Giants explain why they hired Joe Schoen as GM, detail what's next: 'Now, the work begins'

The Giants announced Friday that they hired Joe Schoen as their new GM. Schoen spent the past five years as the Buffalo Bills' assistant GM.

"We are pleased and proud to name Joe as our general manager," said Giants president John Mara. "Throughout our search, Joe impressed us with his ability to communicate a progressive and comprehensive vision for our team. His philosophy and collaborative approach to building a roster and coaching staff align with what we were looking for in a general manager.

"Joe is the kind of exceptional leader we sought to oversee our football operations," added Giants chairman Steve Tisch. "We will do whatever it takes to support Joe's vision and strategic plan for success. We are excited to begin this next chapter with Joe as our general manager."

Schoen, 42, becomes only the Giants' fifth GM since 1979. The Giants have been overseen in that time by George Young (1979-97), Ernie Accorsi (1998-06), Jerry Reese (2007-16) and, most recently, Dave Gettleman (2017-21), who "retired" on Jan. 11.

"It is an honor to accept the position of general manager of the New York Giants," Schoen said. "I want to thank John Mara and Steve Tisch and their families for this tremendous opportunity. And obviously I am grateful to (GM) Brandon (Beane) and the Bills for the experience I have had in Buffalo.

"Now, the work begins. My immediate focus is to hire a head coach, with who I will work in lockstep with to create a collaborative environment for our football operations. We will cast a wide net, it can be former head coaches, first-time head coaches but, more importantly, it has to be a person who possesses the ability to lead an organization and the ability to motivate and develop players. On the personnel side, we will begin to evaluate our roster and prepare for the draft and free agency. Our goal is to build a roster that will be competitive, have depth, and most importantly, win football games."

Schoen visited the Giants on Tuesday in East Rutherford, N.J. He had his in-person meeting with Mara, Tisch and vice president of player personnel Chris Mara. Schoen first spoke with them last Tuesday via video conference.

The Giants' GM search cast a wide net, and the pool of external candidates narrowed from nine to three. Schoen got the nod over San Francisco 49ers assistant GM Adam Peters and Kansas City Chiefs executive director of player personnel Ryan Poles.

"Steve and I were both impressed with all nine candidates," Mara said. "We came away from this process feeling like all nine will be a general manager in this league at some point. We just felt like Joe was the right fit at the right time for us."