The New York Giants have agreed to a multiyear contract extension with general manager Joe Schoen, the team announced on Thursday.The news comes about a month after the 2026 NFL draft, which marked the end of a sort of “trial period” for Schoen with new coach John Harbaugh, who was hired this offseason. Harbaugh’s hire represented a huge shift in how the Giants operated. Historically, the Giants have been general manager-centric, with coaches reporting to GMs who then report to ownership. But in his negotiations with New York, Harbaugh needed it in writing that he would report to owner John Mara, and not to Schoen.Now, Schoen’s future appears to be tied to Harbaugh’s for the near future.Harbaugh, the Super Bowl-winning coach who spent the last 18 seasons in Baltimore, has a history of consistency, having missed the playoffs only twice in the last eight seasons. Since Harbaugh was hired in New York, he and Schoen have navigated filling out the coaching staff, free agency and the draft. It’s the first time they worked together after not having a preexisting relationship before the hire.
“Joe and I have been working together every single day, I mean, hours on end, whether it’s planning or organizing or just talking about players or watching tape again over and over again on these guys,” Harbaugh said when asked about how the operation has gone since they started. “I feel like it’s gone very well.”But the lead-up to the draft was marred by Dexter Lawrence’s trade request, which resulted in the All-Pro DT being sent to the Cincinnati Bengals for the No. 10 pick. The New York Post reported that Lawrence’s agent, Joel Segal, didn’t want to deal with Schoen, so others had to get involved. Ultimately, the trade saved the Giants from entering an extended standoff with Lawrence and the increased draft capital led to both the Arvell Reese and Francis Mauigoa selections. Harbaugh called it “a win for everybody.”Despite the offseason optimism, Schoen’s final regular football season featured massive upheaval. The Giants parted ways with Brian Daboll midseason and made Mike Kafka the interim head coach. The team later fired defensive coordinator Shane Bowen in late November and axed assistant defensive line coach Bryan Cox as well.Despite this, the Giants retained Schoen after a 4-13 season with the plan for Schoen to lead football operations and the search for the team’s next head coach. This was the third year in a row the team lost double-digit games. During Schoen’s tenure as GM, the Giants went 22-45-1 and reached the playoffs once.“Continuity and stability in the front office is important to our progress,” said co-owner John Mara and former co-owner Steve Tisch in a statement in January. “We believe in our young core of talent, which we can build around for future success.”This story will be updated.
