The rumors that the New York Giants are prepared to move on from general manager Joe Schoen may be just a dot-connecting exercise.
Schoen, new head coach John Harbaugh, and senior vice president of football operations and strategy, Dawn Aponte, just completed their first draft together, and things reportedly could not have gone better.
Schoen, who got a reprieve from ownership after three losing seasons, had his wings clipped a bit, surrendering some of his authority over personnel to Harbaugh while Aponte took over administrative duties.
With free agency basically in the books, the trio’s focus turned to the draft, where Harbaugh’s influence took center stage. Schoen ran the process, but the player selection was clearly done with Harbaugh’s vision in mind.
“I feel great about how it’s gone,” Harbaugh told reporters after the draft. “Starting from the ground up, looking at the staff and the scouts and everything, it’s a great group. It’s a great group that Joe put together.”
Harbaugh, who clearly holds the seat of power in the organization at the moment, spoke of Schoen as if they were partners. He appeared pleased at how the new hierarchy was working out.
“On the surface, right now I feel great about it,” he said. “I don’t feel we could have done any better. I think we made the most of the draft, made the most of the resources we had. I’m really happy with the way it went. I hope Joe feels the same.”
Veteran NFL reporter Mike Garafolo believes the Giants have no intention of parting ways with Schoen, especially after seeing how well they’ve been working together.
“John Harbaugh and Joe Schoen have hit it off really well since Schoen was a big part of the recruiting process to get Harbaugh to East Rutherford. This was a home run for them over the weekend from that standpoint,” Garafolo said.
“I know a lot of people say, well, Harbaugh’s here and Schoen’s going to handle the whole free agency in the draft, and after the draft, he’s just going to dispose of him. I do not expect that to happen. Joe Schoen is the general manager of the Giants, and John Harbaugh is pleased about that.”
Lingering reports remain that many around the league believe Schoen will be shown the door, but both Harbaugh and Garafolo appear to be pouring cold water on that.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Report: New York Giants’ John Harbaugh pleased with Joe Schoen as GM
Reporting by John Fennelly, Giants Wire / Giants Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
