On Wednesday night in New York, Giants co-owner John Mara issued a vote of confidence for head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen, a year that prevented him from doing the same for quarterback Daniel Jones.
A month earlier, several people from the Giants team showed up at the University of Colorado, where potential top quarterback Shedeur Sanders used to be on display.
Mara faces another crossroads for her group. The Giants are 2-5 heading into Monday night’s game against the Steelers, heading into what will be their 10th losing season in the 13 years since their last Super Bowl victory.
“Obviously, we’re all very disappointed with where we are right now,” Mara said Wednesday night in the debut of an NFL Motion Pictures feature about her father, Wellington. “But I will say one thing: We are not making any changes this season and I don’t anticipate making any changes in the offseason either.”
Mara says he plans to train perseverance with his think tank, who two years ago led the Giants to the playoffs but has struggled since then. However, he rejected such a comment about Jones.
“I’m not going to get into that,” Mara said when asked about Jones’ surprising contract.
Jones’ insured cash runs out at the end of this season, the second on his promised four-year, $160 million extension signed in March 2023. But if he is injured and can’t cross a physical in March, $12 million of his 2025. The salary could be secured. And another $11 million could be locked in if a person isn’t ready to cross until early in the year.
Everyone, including Jones, is well aware of the pledge mechanism, but the Giants still hope to play competitive football despite what history says is a 2-5 team making the postseason. But talks could easily change in two weeks after the Giants face the Steelers and Commanders in an important NFC East fight just before the industry deadline on Nov. 5.
The Giants have allowed the most sacks (31) through the first seven weeks of the season, and of course, the team defended Saquon Barkley’s sign during the offseason with the rival Eagles. But Jones is 3-10 in his starts as a 13-year-old, and his passer rating of 80.6 ranks 26th among certified quarterbacks and below the league average of 91.5.
Daboll took over the offensive snaps this year and has been much more involved in the quarterback room in 2024 than in previous seasons.
The timing of Mara’s comments and the whereabouts of Giants executives tended to coincide. Every NFL team will send some scouts to Colorado this fall thanks to the presence of Sanders and Heisman contender Travis Hunter.
In Colorado, a trio of Giants saw their application Tuesday. Associate general manager Brandon Brown, player team director (and Mara’s nephew) Tim McDonnell and special employee of the general manager Jessie Armstead, who earned three All-Pro nods as a Giants linebacker.
At practice closer, Colorado head coach Deion Sanders asked Brown to speak to his players in an accent that used to be captured on camera, like most things, in Colorado. Message from Brown: While you assume no one is watching, someone is watching.
“We’re looking at everything, whether it’s his mannerisms, his attention to detail, what kind of teammate he is, how he works hard,” Brown instructed the players. “It’s not just about Saturdays. It’s what you value in the process. Is the process important to you? Do you like the ball? Do you love the ball? Do you live the ball?”
Last year, Joe Schoen and Brown toured the town during the fall and winter weather, scouting draft-eligible quarterbacks up close. It culminated in the Giants trying unsuccessfully to get into the top three of the draft for a quarterback. His best opportunity: face Drake Maye in Disagree. 3 total: They were rejected by the Patriots, as noted on HBO’s Sun-baked Knocks this summer.
Resources around the league have wondered if Mara would restart the collision again in his franchise. For those inside the development, Wednesday’s comments came as no surprise. For those outside the development, many remain unconvinced that what Mara does not “anticipate” will not end up happening.
“The owners always say that,” said a government body of NFC workers.
Daboll has been separated from the successful Schoolmaster of the past for two years. And the Giants front office took some of the worst salary cap situations in the NFL just a few years ago and gave the team financial flexibility with some of the youngest rosters in the league and a defense that leads the league in sacks.
In fact, Mara had no plans to fire Joe Pass at this point in the 2021 season before the devastating final two weeks of the season. And there was no head coach like Bill Belichick in the future either.
