Giants begin general manager search by looking outside organization
Giants President John Mara speaks to the media before Giants training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center on Aug. 17, 2021. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Leading off, from the Buffalo Bills, Joe Schoen.
He’ll be the first candidate to speak directly with the Giants about their vacant general manager position as the team begins its first round of interviews on Wednesday morning. The initial conversations will take place virtually before finalists are brought to East Rutherford for in-person follow-ups.
Schoen is one of eight candidates with whom the Giants have requested permission to speak, and while each represents an intriguing option from a winning program currently preparing for the postseason, the assistant general manager for the Bills may have one very influential letter of recommendation that sets him apart.
Schoen’s first big break in the NFL occurred when he was hired by Bill Parcells and became a national scout for the Dolphins in 2008. The two-time Super Bowl-winning coach of the Giants is said to still speak very highly of Schoen.
As the Giants go very far out of their comfort zone during this search — which almost certainly will lead them to hire just the second general manager in their history who has never before worked for their front office — such references that are near and dear to the hearts of John Mara and Steve Tisch may be very influential.
In a surprisingly diverse field, Quentin Harris, the vice president of player personnel for Arizona, appears to be the only candidate with direct ties to the Giants. They signed the former safety in 2006 but released him before the start of the regular season.
But Schoen and Harris are not the only ones who enter the process with something of a connection to the Giants’ past.
Ran Carthon, the current director of pro personnel for the 49ers and the son of former Giants fullback Maurice Carthon, also will be interviewed. Parcells has been a long-time supporter of both Carthons in their careers in coaching and personnel.
Adam Peters, the assistant general manager of the 49ers, and Monti Ossenfort, the director of player personnel for the Titans, both spent formative years in the front office of the Patriots. They are likely to get a stamp of approval from another respected former Giants coach, Bill Belichick.
Another candidate, Cardinals vice president of pro scouting Adrian Wilson, spent most of his decorated playing days in Arizona but did sign with Belichick’s Patriots late in his career (he tore his Achilles and never played for the team).
Even Ryan Poles, who is the executive director of player personnel for Kansas City, might be able to namedrop a Giants Hall of Famer. He began his tenure in Kansas City when he was hired by general manager Scott Pioli, Parcells' son-in-law.
Such connections, whether they be direct, secondary or merely peripheral, will not be the basis of any final decisions. Nor are they a prerequisite. Ryan Cowden, the vice president of player personnel for the Titans, will receive an interview and does not appear to have any such sponsor for his candidacy (although he did work under Dave Gettleman during his time in Carolina).
"We are looking for a person who demonstrates exceptional leadership and communication abilities, somebody who will oversee all aspects of our football operations, including player personnel, college scouting and coaching," John Mara said in the announcement of Gettleman’s retirement earlier this week.
For the first time since the Giants hired George Young in 1979, the job description does not overtly or implicitly say that a history within the organization is required. The past two general manager searches have included interviews with a total of two outside candidates. Thus far, this one appears to have nothing but outside candidates.
For an organization that has always relied so heavily on intimate firsthand knowledge of its general manager targets and eventual hires, having a heavy hitter in Giants lore who can vouch for a candidate could be a difference-maker.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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