Giants criticized for giving GM Joe Schoen a contract extension

The New York Giants clearly feel like they have the right team in place when it comes to organizational leadership.

They went out and got a Super Bowl-winning head coach with plenty of experience this offseason when the Baltimore Ravens let John Harbaugh walk.

They then extended general manager Joe Schoen, citing his working relationship with Harbaugh as a major reason why.

While Schoen has his warts, the Giants have good reason to believe in Schoen. The results under his watch have been less than stellar — the team is 22-45-1 with him as the general manager — but he has made some good calls as of late. Selecting Abdul Carter and Jaxson Dart in the 2025 draft has given the Giants a strong young core. He followed that up in 2026 with two first-round picks thanks to the trade of Dexter Lawrence II.

So yes, there's reason for optimism in New York, but not everybody believes that Schoen should be the guy moving forward.

One of his detractors is ESPN's Bill Barnwell, who believes the Giants' worst move this offseason was giving Schoen a contract extension.

"After a surprising trip to the playoffs in his first season with the organization, Schoen mishandled the two biggest decisions of his tenure, as he chose to franchise Saquon Barkley while signing Daniel Jones to a four-year, $160 million extension," Barnwell recently wrote. "A year later, Schoen let Barkley leave for the rival Eagles in free agency, while Jones quickly became an albatross on the roster."

Joe Schoen has had an up-and-down tenure with New York Giants

Barnwell did give credit to Schoen for the 2025 draft. Keep in mind, any franchise that wants to compete for a Super Bowl in 2026 and beyond needs to have a franchise quarterback, and the Giants feel they got that quarterback at No. 25 overall in Dart.

Schoen selected Carter at No. 3 overall, and although he didn't light the world on fire and had some missteps as a rookie, he did show potential.

Now, the Giants have a chance to pair Carter with a high-upside pass-rushing prospect in Arvell Reese out of Ohio State, who went No. 5 overall. They also got Dart some major protection by selecting big offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa at No. 10.

There are pieces there, but Barnwell wonders if an extension for Schoen was really necessary.

"Were the Giants really going to be stuck if they let Schoen play out the final year of that contract before deciding whether he was an essential part of the organization and in need of an extension?" he asked. "Would anybody be surprised if Harbaugh wants to bring in some Ravens executives 12 months from now?"

Those are questions worth asking, but the Giants clearly felt they already had answers. And the answer was Schoen.