Tag: Tim McDonnell

Bill Belichick has warned coaches about Giants organization

Bill Belichick has a great affinity for the Giants but has reportedly warned people that their current power structure is troublesome.

Bill Belichick is a name that simply won’t go away when it comes to the New York Giants. At least not since he and the New England Patriots parted ways.

Fans have clamored for Belichick to return to the Giants, either as their head coach, a job currently held by Brian Daboll, or as their defensive coordinator.

Neither of those things is going to happen — not now and likely not in the future.

During the latest Breaking Big Blue podcast, ESPN’s Jordan Raanan revealed that Belichick’s view of the Giants has shifted over the years.

“I’ve heard this multiple times over the past five, six, seven years. And it’s a dirty little secret, maybe, about Bill Belichick and the Giants,” Raanan said. “I don’t think he looks at the Giants the same way he used to look at the Giants when he was here.”

Raanan notes that Belichick was a Wellington Mara guy, not a John Mara and Steve Tisch guy. And while he still reflects positively on his time with the Giants, Belichick has become wary of the current ownership and front office structure.

Specifically, Raanan notes, is the presence of John Mara’s nephew, Tim McDonnell, the team’s director of player personnel.

“Over the years, Bill Belichick has given advice to people . . . that he didn’t really like the setup of the Giants organization. Like, he didn’t think the Giants (were) this great organization,” Raanan said. “Bill Belichick, like everybody else watching from the outside (and) watching the way it’s set up, doesn’t think — at least this is what I’ve heard — it’s this great organization in its current iteration.

“That doesn’t mean Bill Belichick doesn’t love the Giants and appreciate everything they’ve done for him and have great memories.”

Because of the current power structure, Raanan doesn’t believe Belichick would want to come to the Giants at this point in his career. Even if he became desperate and the Giants came calling, it’s likely Belichick would request a major dynamic shift within the building at 1925 Giants Drive.

“He’s directly told that to people — be careful about the organization and their setup and the way it’s run. That’s happened,” Raanan said. “So, yes, Bill Belichick loves the New York Football Giants, the organization, and the memories he has from the past. It doesn’t mean he’s bats— crazy in love with the Giants organization right now.”

And there’s no reason to believe the Giants organization covets Belichick, either. After all, it was his accidental text message to Brian Flores that currently has John Mara and Co. in court.

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Giants’ Brandon Brown, Tim McDonnell scouted Michigan-Ohio State

The New York Giants had three representatives on hand for Michigan-Ohio State, while general manager Joe Schoen scouted Oregon-Oregon State.

The college football game of the week came on Saturday afternoon from The Big House where Michigan defeated their arch-rivals, Ohio State, by a score of 30-24.

At least 14 NFL teams sent representatives to the game, including the New York Giants.

Those on hand from the Giants were assistant general manager Brandon Brown, director of player personnel Tim McDonnell, and area scout Brendan Prophett.

With a potential top-5 pick in the 2024 NFL draft on tap, the Giants were likely keying in on wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. Other prospects they got to see include wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, edge rusher T.J. Tuimoloau, cornerback Denzel Burke, quarterback J.J. McCarthy and more.

Harrison hauled in five receptions for 118 yards and one touchdown in a losing effort.

Elsewhere around the country, the Giants continued to do their due diligence and that included general manager Joe Schoen, who again was on hand to take in some action.

Giants’ Joe Schoen personally scouted Caleb Williams, Michael Penix on Saturday

New York Giants GM Joe Schoen and several other shot callers from the organization personally scouted USC-Washington over the weekend.

New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen was among a large contingent who attended the USC-Washington game on Saturday.

Schoen was flanked by assistant general manager Brandon Brown and director of player personnel Tim McDonnell as they got an up close and personal look at two of the nation’s top quarterbacks — Caleb Williams and Michael Penix.

Both Williams and Penix put on quite the show, too.

In a 52-42 Washington victory, Penix completed 22 of his 30 passes for 256 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Williams completed 27 of his 35 passes for 312 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and one fumble in a losing effort.

With the Giants likely headed for a top pick in the 2024 NFL draft, it makes sense that Schoen & Co. would want a good look at the top available quarterbacks — even after signing Daniel Jones to a four-year, $160 million deal.

The Giants dropped to 2-7 on the season following a 30-6 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 9, and Jones appears to have suffered a season-ending torn ACL, putting his future very much in doubt.

In addition to Washington-USC, the Giants also had scouts at the following games:

Brandon Brown credits Giants’ player personnel directors for Jordon Riley discovery

New York Giants assistant GM Brandon Brown says Dennis Hickey and Tim McDonnell were the ones who discovered NT Jordon Riley.

Sometimes you stumble on a guy late in the draft that just comes right in and plays lights out without missing a beat.

Such could be said about defensive lineman Jordan Riley, a well-traveled 25-year-old rookie the New York Giants selected with the 243rd overall selection in this year’s NFL draft.

Riley has played extensively in the preseason and he has played well. Noted for his strong play against the run, Riley has also shown that he can get into the backfield, push the pocket and get to the quarterback.

Giants assistant general manager Brandon Brown didn’t take the credit for unearthing the gem that is Riley at his media session on Monday, but told the story behind how the 6-foot-5, 325-pounder out of Oregon became a Giant.

“I can’t mention Jordon Riley without mentioning Dennis Hickey and Tim McDonnell (the Giants’ directors of player personnel). They were driving forces in terms of the process of Jordon,” Brown said.

“I remember going back to my notes; Jordon’s not on anybody’s radar. It’s October, Dennis Hickey goes out to Oregon and sees him and is like, ‘B, listen, I’m just telling you this guy has traits that we want to play with knockback, we want to be big up front, want to control the line of scrimmage, he fits our brand of ball.’ Tim tells me, ‘B, we need to go see him play.’ So, Tim and I went and saw him play against Cal. Tim’s been the ultimate checks and balances for me, someone that I have blind trust in where he says, ‘We need to go watch this guy, and we come apart from it, you can walk out to warmups, and he sticks out like a sore thumb.'”

Riley’s teammate, linebacker Azeez Ojulari — a third-year player who is actually two years younger than Riley — had this to say on Monday.

“He’s coming in head down working every day, focused, locked in. You’ve got big Dex (defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence II), (defensive lineman) Leo(nard Williams) in there grinding, helping him out, Nacho (defensive lineman Rakeem Nuñez-Roches), (defensive lineman) A’Shawn (Robinson), they’re all working on him. He’s pushing them every day and he’s just improving every day, going hard and getting better.”

The Giants, after years of Day 3 failures at the draft, are finally getting some hits.

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Giants’ Joe Schoen scouted Rutgers-Iowa on Saturday

The New York Giants had scouts and executives at several college games on Saturday, including Joe Schoen at Rutgers-Iowa.

New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen continued his weekend scouting trips on Saturday, this time staying close to home in order to take in Rutgers-Iowa.

In addition to Schoen, director of player personnel Tim McDonnell and assistant director of player personnel Dennis Hickey were also in attendance for the game. As was safety Dane Belton, although he was merely a spectator (obviously).

Meanwhile, elsewhere across the country, the Giants also had scouts at Tennessee-Florida and Syracuse-Virginia.

The Giants have a lot of work to do next offseason and during the 2023 NFL draft, so they will continue to spread out across the U.S. this year.

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Defiant John Mara insists nepotism does not exist within Giants

John Mara defiantly denied that nepotism exists within the New York Giants even as his brother, Chris Mara, sits in on GM interviews.

New York Giants co-owner John Mara met with reporters via Zoom conference on Wednesday and did so with several strict rules in place.

First and foremost, the Zoom call was not to be livestreamed for anyone to see. Secondly, reporters in attendance were permitted only a single question before being muted and not allowed any follow-ups.

That setup allowed for Mara to completely control the conversation, as well as any and all information that would be made available.

Never was that more evident than when Mara shut down any suggestion that nepotism exists within the organization, essentially blaming that on a media fabrication.

“The perception [that family members aren’t held to accountability during this stretch] has been created by you and others,” Mara chided a reporter. “The reality is that in terms of my brother, my brother spent the bulk of his time doing the evaluation of college players. His grades go into our system, and he participates in the draft.

“All personnel decisions in this building, and this has always been the case, have been made by the general manager and the head coach. When they agree on a decision, they come to me with it. As long as they are both in agreement, I okay it.”

The irony of Mara’s statement — other than acknowledging that Chris Mara grades rookie prospects — is that the team announced just hours earlier that his brother was sitting in on general manager interviews.

The Giants held their first such interview on Wednesday, meeting with Buffalo Bills assistant general manager Joe Schoen. And Chris was right there alongside John and Steve Tisch.

“Chris is a very skilled evaluator, but he does not have any authority here other than that I will go to him on occasion and ask him about players,” Mara added.

And general manager candidates, apparently.

Outside of Chris, the Giants also employee another unfirable entity: Tim McDonnell, the team’s co-director of player personnel who just so happens to be John’s nephew (and Wellington Mara’s grandson).

“Tim is probably the most respected person we have in this building,” Mara boasted. “Coaches, front office staff, the general manager go to him and ask his advice on players because he’s a good evaluator, he’s worked his way up from the bottom, and he’s earned his stripes. He does not have any authority here.

“The personnel decisions have always been made, and will always be made by the general manager and the head coach. If they agree on a draft pick, on a UFA, then I’m going to okay it 99.99 percent of the time. The only reason I will raise an issue with that is if there’s a conduct issue. I’ll question them, I’ll make them defend their position, and make sure they’re on the same page. But, at the end of the day, if they’re in agreement, that’s the direction we’re going in.”

So, Chris evaluates rookies, provides grades and sits in on general manager interviews. Tim evaluates players and offers his input to both the general manager and head coach. And John signs off an all personnel moves after the GM and head coach consult him.

John did say one thing that rang true, however.

“I kept thinking during the season we had hit rock bottom, then each week it got a little worse,” Mara said.

Yes. Yes it did. And Wednesday’s Zoom conference call was no exception.

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Giants hire Steven Price as pro personnel manager

The New York Giants have hired Steven Price as their pro personnel manager and reshuffled other parts of the department.

The New York Giants have done a lot of reshuffling this offseason and that trend continued on Monday.

The team announced the hire of Steven Price, who had previously served as pro scout for the Houston Texans. He will take over as the pro personnel manager, a position previously held by Ken Sternfeld.

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“We have hired Steven Price, formerly of the Houston Texans, as our pro personnel manager,” the Giants said in a to-the-point statement.

Sternfeld will remain with the Giants and continue contributing to the pro personnel department, which will now be headed by Price.

Price was dismissed by the Texans in February after Nick Caserio was hired as their new general manager. Prior to his three seasons in Houston, Prince spent time with the Carolina Panthers and Minnesota Vikings.

In addition to the hire of Prince and the reassignment of Sternfeld, the Giants will move Matt Shauger from assistant director of pro personnel to pro personnel senior scout and football systems analyst, reports the New York Post.

Meanwhile, the New York Daily News reports that Tim McDonnell has been promoted to co-director of player personnel alongside Mark Koncz.

Nick La Testa and Corey Lockett will continue in their roles as pro personnel scouts.

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