Get to know new Giants GM Joe Schoen: 'You’re not going to outwork him'

Here is what you need to know about new Giants GM Joe Schoen, who had become Bills GM Brandon Beane's right-hand man while helping Buffalo turn into a yearly Super Bowl contender...

Schoen's rise with the Bills

Schoen had been with the Bills for the last five seasons after joining the team in 2017.

In 2019, Schoen described his role: 

"I work with the analytics department, I work with our personnel department, sometimes with football operations," he told The Buffalo News. "I work with our communications. I touch a lot of different departments throughout the building ... A lot of my background is the personnel, so watching film -- pro, college draft prospects, free agency, the waiver wire -- that's a majority of my day."

Said Schoen on his relationship with Beane:

"With the Bills, I think Brandon and I are aligned in that we both believe in the draft and building through the draft. It's kind of our Super Bowl, our chance to affect the roster moving forward, not just in 2019 but hopefully on into the future. We understand the task at hand and how important it is. There's not a big margin for error."

While Schoen had only been working for the Bills for the last five seasons, his relationship with Beane goes back roughly 20 years, when he began his NFL career as an intern for Beane with the Carolina Panthers -- a job that led to him being hired full-time by Carolina.

"He’s going to be a GM," Beane told The Athletic about Schoen in 2019. "The thing about him is that he’s smart enough to know that he’s still learning and growing, and he’s trying to get stronger at his craft. He wants to be totally ready when he gets in there.

"Instead of just rushing to the seat and then trying to figure it out, Joe’s that guy that he wants to have all the answers to the test before he goes and sits down. Very few people are like that. There’s so many people in this business that are just trying to get into that head coach seat, that GM seat, and maybe they’re not ready for it. I have no doubt he’s going to be ready for it. He’s a great communicator. He understands people. You’re not going to outwork him."

Before Buffalo

Overall, Schoen has been working in the NFL for 20 years.

Prior to his time with the Bills, he spent roughly a decade with the Miami Dolphins, including his last four years there as the director of player personnel.

Before serving in that role, Schoen was a national scout for the Dolphins and then their assistant director of college scouting.

With Miami, Schoen was heavily involved in the team's draft preparation.

His first job in the NFL was the aforementioned gig as an intern with the Panthers under Beane in 2000.

That internship led to seven seasons with the Panthers, where Schoen worked as a scouting assistant and then as a southeast and southwest scout.

Schoen attended college at DePauw University, where he played football for four years. He was a quarterback during his freshman season and a wide receiver after that, becoming team captain in his senior year.

The Bill Parcells connection

This GM search was different than any the Giants had since 1979, when George Young was hired from outside the organization to turn things around after a disastrous decade.

That's because John Mara and Steve Tisch did not interview any internal candidates for the position, meaning the "in the family" way the job has been filled for 42 years was out the window.

But that doesn't mean Mara and Tisch didn't view Schoen's history with legendary former Giants head coach Bill Parcells as anything but a positive.

It was Parcells who hired Schoen to be a scout with the Dolphins.

"I was impressed with Joe because he was a sharp guy,” Parcells told The Athletic in 2019, "and he had a good thought process when it came to evaluating players."