When the Giants started their dogged pursuit to hire John Harbaugh as their next head coach, their general manager, Joe Schoen, spearheaded that pursuit. Though Schoen had been in the NFL since 2001 and Harbaugh since 1998, their paths had not crossed in any meaningful way. 

Schoen was able to make an immediate impression on Harbaugh, and their professional relationship grew as they went about the business of hiring a coaching staff, dealing with free agency, then the draft. Harbaugh, unsolicited, often praised Schoen’s work ethic and attention to detail. 

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The bond was made official Thursday when the Giants announced Schoen and the team agreed to a multiyear extension to remain as the general manager. Clearly, Harbaugh’s stamp of approval went a long way in securing Schoen’s place at the top of the front office hierarchy. 

This bonding was evident as Harbaugh and Schoen sat together after the Giants in the first round of the draft — their first together — selected linebacker Arvell Reese at No. 5 and offensive lineman Sisi Mauigoa at No. 10 overall — a pick Schoen acquired by trading disgruntled nose tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Bengals. Harbaugh did not hide how thrilled he was by this turn of events. 

“You know, I thought Joe did a great job tonight, operating under pressure,’’ Harbaugh said at the time. “He was very well prepared, obviously, just knew what he wanted to do and was fielding the different calls and communicating with everybody. We just, I thought we had a really good operation. Joe led the way on that and did a great job with it.’’ 

Harbaugh also heaped praise on the scouts Schoen assembled. 

“Just really throughout the organization it was really fun to be a part of it and watch it, and I was very impressed with everything,’’ Harbaugh said. 

After that, Schoen receiving a contract extension felt like only a matter of time. He was set to enter the final year of his original five-year deal. Now, with this multiyear extension, he and Harbaugh can build together as the Giants attempt to reclaim glory that the franchise has been missing for so long. 

Schoen’s best move could turn out to be his trade up into the first round of the 2025 draft to get quarterback Jaxson Dart with the 25th pick. That bold move was lauded at the time, and Dart made Schoen look good by producing on the field and showing great leadership in the locker room during an eventful rookie season. It is quite likely Harbaugh would not have come to the Giants unless he was a believer in Dart. 

This is quite a turn of events, considering the 2025 season was the third consecutive losing campaign under Schoen’s direction, a season that prompted ownership to fire head coach Brian Daboll with seven games remaining. At the time, The Post reported that Schoen and Daboll were not a package deal — even though they came in together, were close friends from their time together with the Bills and that Daboll was Schoen’s first choice to coach the Giants. 

Schoen and Daboll were instant hits, as the Giants went 9-7-1 in 2022 and won a playoff game for the first time since the 2011 Super Bowl run. Daboll was named the NFL’s Coach of the Year. 

Schoen admitted the early success led to mistakes with personnel decisions. He tried to build around quarterback Daniel Jones, and the team took a downward turn. The Giants went 6-11, 3-14 and 4-13 the past three seasons, giving Schoen an unsightly record of 22-45-1 in his four years. 

There were draft misses for Schoen — offensive lineman Evan Neal in the first round in 2022, cornerback Deonte Banks in the first round in 2023 — and failing to come up with a contract extension for running back Saquon Barkley meant Schoen had to use the franchise tag on Barkley rather than applying it to Jones, which would have been the more prudent move. 

There is belief in the building that the draft hauls in 2025 and 2026 will provide roster fortification for years to come. 

Giants ownership was pleased with how prepared Schoen was during the coaching search and marveled how quickly they were able to work together as if they had been at it for years, rather than months. Schoen now gets to move forward with Harbaugh.