Giants Fail to Diversify in Hiring

BY LESLIE MONTEIRO

(Photo credit: Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

Let’s make this clear now. This isn’t about being woke. This isn’t about crying racism.

The Giants should be criticized for this general manager hire mainly because they made the same mistake as they did the last time. They settled on this one guy, and they never gave the other candidates a chance. They were locked into this guy that it seemed like the other candidates were there for a dog-and-pony show. In other words, they made a mockery of a job search.

Like the Giants did with Dave Gettleman, they zeroed in on Joe Schoen, the Bills assistant general manager, from the beginning. They were committed to hiring him as their general manager. Ryan Poles and Adrian Wilson were nothing more than cursory interviewers at best, and Poles may have only interviewed the Giants just to fulfill the Rooney Rule requirement the way Louis Riddick did when he went up against Gettleman in the last general manager hire.

Once again, the Giants fail to get it. They were in a rush to go hire Schoen rather than give plenty of candidates a chance to get the job. They were better off just hiring him instead of wasting Foles’ and Wilson’s time.

Their lack of due diligence should subject the Giants to scrutiny. After a failed general manager hire, the Giants should have been humbled enough to do an extensive search rather than just settle with who they liked and felt comfortable with. This Schoen hire reeks.

There were plenty of deserving candidates out there that should have been given the time and day, particularly Poles, who is part of the great front office the Chiefs assembled. He was part of the group that discovered these fast athletes the Chiefs display. The Giants could use those types of athletes.

It’s troubling the Giants only interviewed three candidates when there were plenty of other candidates that deserve their time. It just showed right there was an intention of hiring Schoen and nothing else.

Look, I am not telling you Schoen is going to fail. I really don’t know who he is and what he is. Here’s what I do know: There were plenty of candidates that should have been given serious consideration. How was it that Eagles vice president of football operations Catherine Raiche did not even get an interview? Buccaneers director of football research Jacqueline Davidson has been talked about as a future general manager in the making, so how is it the Giants failed to even talk to her?

Actions speak louder than words. It sure seemed like the Giants wanted to hire someone that would fit their image, which is hiring someone from the old boy network rather than taking a chance on someone that could make a difference. They settled on Schoen because Bill Parcells recommended them to him and they felt comfortable with him. It brings an eerie reminder of why the Giants hire Gettleman in a sense they felt comfortable with him.

For a franchise that has been 22-59 the last five seasons and made only one playoff appearance since they last won the Super Bowl, they should have done a better job of doing a general manager search. They shouldn’t have been stubborn enough to go with that guy from the beginning. They should have been more progressive rather than be stuck in their own ways.

This is why the Giants deserve criticism for this hire just like they should have received when they hired Gettleman.

Sure, the Giants and their cheerleading media will tout the virtues of Schoen. It’s going to be a great testimonial of him. Guess what? We heard the same thing about Gettleman until fans finally caught on to him last season. Why should we now think it’s different?

Already, Schoen seems to settle in Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll as the next Giants head coach. This is troubling in the sense he wants to hire a head coach that he is comfortable with rather than giving others a look. He is going to make the same mistake that John Mara did by hiring with a familiarity route rather than due diligence. Zeroing in one guy from the get-go is a recipe for disaster.

There are too many good candidates out there for the Giants to make a rush hire. There are many candidates out there for the Giants to go try something fresh rather than settle with a safe hire. In a league where analytics are encouraged, the Giants should have gone with that route than go with the traditional scouting route.

Maybe this hire works. Maybe it does not. We will find out.

What the Giants don’t need is to do another general manager search or a head coach search for that matter once again after two or three years. This is why they should have gone all-in on others to make sure they are not in this position again.

Smart money says we could be talking about the same thing two or three years from now.

After all, why should anyone trust John Mara to get it right when he struck out a lot in recent years?