The amount of work is endless, but there is only one challenge: making your team better.
For Joe Sean, entering his third year as Giants general manager, nothing is more important.
“I like my team,” Sean said Wednesday after a sweltering late-summer practice, adding that he thought his players had improved in “several areas” without providing specifics.
“Rather than deciding position by position, we're just going to field the best team we can and hope it works out,” he said.
Those were the final public comments from Sean before the Week 11 bye week in mid-November, which marked an informal handoff from the front office to Brian Daboll and the coaching staff.
It was no surprise to see Sean play the lead role and Daboll play a much smaller supporting role in HBO's first offseason episode of “Hard Knocks.” The offseason is the purview of the general manager, and his prime directive is to give the head coach the best possible roster to get the job done.
Has Sean accomplished that? Are the Giants visibly stronger now than when they left the field last season at 6-11?
The offense has to get better, because it has to. Malik Neighbors is a weapon this franchise hasn't had since Odell Beckham Jr., and while Neighbors is a rookie, a lot is expected of him. The quarterback trio hasn't gotten better. Who's better, Tyrod Taylor with the Jets or new backup Drew Lock? Daniel Jones is healthy, though, which is encouraging.
The loss of Saquon Barkley to the running back corps doesn't add to the talent of the group, but the depth could improve if rookie Tyrone Tracy lives up to his appearance.
They traded for edge rusher Brian Barnes, who they acquired for big money at the time, and he looks to be an impact player when combined with the athletic talents of center Dexter Lawrence and the opposing edge Kayvon Thibodeau. The secondary is the biggest concern right now, with cornerback Deonte Banks missing and starting safety Jason Pinnock looking unproven after his return.
The bottom line? The roster is better, but more in line with a continuing rebuild than anything resembling a finished product.
Sean dodges comprehensive questions the way Neighbors dodges them, hoping to get past a cornerback. No matter how rapid-fire the questions, he's not going to give us the whole picture.
“It doesn't matter what I say,” he said. “They've got to go out there and make plays. The team is a team now and we've got to stick together and come together.”
A GM can't do everything well. Sean tried to rebuild the offensive line in the 2022 draft with Evan Neal (1st round), Josh Ezuadu (3rd round) and Marcus McKetan (5th round), but it seemed to be to no avail. Neal, the 7th overall pick, will carry the dreaded “fail” label, but he wasn't a big choice. He was a consensus top 10 pick. Ezuadu never found a position, and McKetan was fired. The Giants believe that position coach Bobby Johnson, who was fired after last season, didn't give the young offensive linemen enough support.
Hurt by those setbacks, Sean was forced to change direction, signing Jon Runyan, Jermaine El-Emno and Greg Van Roten this year to fill holes up front with veterans. The trio will start alongside star left tackle Andrew Thomas (who Sean took over and re-signed) and center John-Michael Schmitz. Schmitz was Sean's second-round draft pick in 2023 and had a decent rookie season but still has a lot to prove.
A better-than-expected first season (nine wins in the regular season and one more in the playoffs) raised expectations, but the arrow of progress has tilted: Co-owner John Mara hasn't set specific win-loss targets, but he said recently that he expects “significant improvement” in Year 3 of the Shane-Daboll setup.
What does it mean for those charged with leading that improvement?
“You asked him, you got a chance to talk to him,” Shawn said. “You talked to the most important person.”
So what do those marching orders mean for Sean?
“Daveth and I don't come into this job without saying we want to go out and win games,” Sean said, in a somewhat gruff voice. “That's why we're here. That's why we work so hard. That's why we were here all last night doing the waiver cutdown, that's why we were here all spring pro day, that's why we put in all the work. We're not going to come out here and not win games. That's always the goal. I don't get it. I know the question, but the goal is always to win games.”
With that, Sean and Daboll got up from the table where they were sitting and walked out. Daboll's comments will be heard again soon, and almost daily throughout the season. Sean will step back from public commentary, but his work will be showcased on a weekly basis.
