Joe Schoen believes in the old adage when it comes to he-said, she-said scenarios.
The Giants general manager acknowledged the coaching turmoil that engulfed his team after its season ended in January, while stating that any angles have to be taken with a grain of salt since sources have reasons to tell their sides of the story when things go wrong.
“We still competed to the end. The Rams made the playoffs, we were in that game until the end, we beat the Eagles, we took ’em to the end when we played there,” Schoen said during a fan question-and-answer session during the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine. “The perception outside and the reality inside sometimes there’s a gap there and some of those articles come from sources that have an agenda. Maybe the truth is somewhere in the middle.
“We like the staff (head coach Brian Daboll) brought in, lots of good coaches, good teammates that we’re going to get along … we’re onto 2024.”
While Schoen is correct in saying perception does not always reflect reality, the perception of his team and coaching staff at this moment is not flattering.
One season after a surprising run to the playoffs and a wild-card win, the Giants struggled in 2023 and a coaching staff that earned high marks suddenly seemed dysfunctional.
Daboll and Wink Martindale had a falling out that led to the defensive coordinator leaving the team, ultimately landing with the University of Michigan.
The pair’s demeanors did not clash on gameday, with Daboll fiery compared to Martindale’s mellowness. Martindale also had no issues testing Daboll’s patience.
Daboll later fired defensive assistants Kevin and Drew Wilkins, Martindale’s top lieutenants, which resulted in Martindale yelling “f–k you” at Daboll as he stormed out of the room after the season, The Post reported.
The back-and-forth led to plenty of stories documenting their differences and what unraveled between a partnership that once seemed promising.
The Giants also moved on from special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey, although they retained offensive coordinator Mike Kafka despite rumblings about his status within the organization.
Former Titans defensive coordinator Shane Bowen is replacing Martindale, while ex-Jets assistant Michael Ghobrial will serve as the new special teams coach.
These moves shined the spotlight on Daboll, who now enters a pivotal third year, needing to show that he was not just a flash in the pan in his rookie season leading the team.
Daboll and Schoen have an important offseason ahead of them with no bigger question than whether or not to draft a quarterback to replace the often-injured and inconsistent Daniel Jones.
Oddsmakers already project the Giants to be one of the NFL’s worst teams in 2024.