Saquon Barkley excited by the 'energy' new Giants coach and GM are bringing

LOS ANGELES — Saquon Barkley has had a handful of conversations with his new head coach and general manager. He was in the building the day Brian Daboll came in to interview for the job and they have spoken on the phone since. They’ve discussed the way the Giants’ offense might look and the type of culture the new regime is trying to build.

One thing they have not talked about? Whether Barkley will be a Giant when all of that comes to be in the spring.

With the team needing to pare tens of millions of dollars from its ledger just to meet the salary cap next month, parting ways with Barkley and his guaranteed salary of $7.2 million in the final year of his contract while also picking up some potential capital in draft picks could be an option.

New general manager Joe Schoen has no attachment to Barkley; he has preached patience in a Giants turnaround and might determine that when the team is ready to contend in a few years, Barkley — who already has dealt with several serious injuries — could be on the back end of his career.

"We never really had that conversation," Barkley said on Friday at Super Bowl LVI. "It was never really brought up like if I’m leaving or if I’m not going to stay. We just had a conversation as normal."

Barkley, who used to run like a gazelle in the backfield, has not addressed the elephant in the room with the Giants.

Rather, he is going under the assumption that he will be on the field for the team in 2022.

And he is excited about that.

"I love the energy, I love the conversation I had with him," Barkley said of his talks with Daboll. "I think him and the GM Joe Schoen, they’re doing an amazing job right now. I can’t wait to get back in April."

This will be Barkley’s third head coach. The Giants were unable to have a winning record at any time during his career under Pat Shurmur and Joe Judge. So why is Daboll different?

"I think for one, the energy that he’s bringing and the conversations about the way he’s going to relate the offense to the players and make the system work for the players," Barkley said. "Obviously I think Joe Schoen, what he’s going to do in free agency and the draft to build the team. And I think we have the talent on the team.

"I truly don’t think we’re that far [away]. We just have to keep working."

Barkley also knows that about-faces are common in the NFL. He need only look up at the signage in Los Angeles this week and see pictures of the Bengals to realize that Cincinnati won four games last year and now is one win away from a Lombardi Trophy.

"It just goes to show you every year is different," Barkley said. "Every year is a different year. We have the talent. We’re bringing in the right coaching staff. We’re bringing the right players in. We’re going to make it work."

Barkley remains part of that Giants’ "we." For now.

By Tom Rock

tom.rock@newsday.com@TomRock_Newsday

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.