The latest news from around the division.
Report: New York Giants’ Joe Schoen, Brian Daboll are ‘working as separate entities’ – Dan Benton, USA Today
The head coach and general manager each seem to be doing their own thing.
Following an ugly end to the 2024 season, the New York Giants were expected to fire general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll. If not Schoen, then most certainly Daboll.
Instead, Giants co-owner John Mara opted to keep the regime intact while simultaneously expressing his displeasure.
“Now that our season is over, we felt it necessary to make this statement. Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll will continue in their respective roles with the organization,” Mara wrote in a statement.
“As disappointing as the results of the season have been, Steve (Tisch) and I remain confident in the process that Joe and Brian have implemented and their vision for our team.”
Leading up to that announcement, reports suggested Schoen and Daboll would be evaluated separately. They weren’t but are now apparently operating separately.
Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News reports that more than at any other point in their tenure, Schoen and Daboll are “working as separate entities.”
Mara publicly blamed the previous regime’s failures on a lack of communication and collaboration between GM Dave Gettleman and head coach Joe Judge. Schoen and Daboll projected a united front and worked as a complementary pairing early on, having arrived together from Buffalo in the first place.
Gradually, however, that dynamic has shifted to the point that Schoen and Daboll now more than ever are working as separate entities, sources say.
This offseason, there have been some notable changes. Many will point to Daboll’s lack of presence at certain Pro Days, but that isn’t necessarily outside of his norm. However, he and Schoen holding separate press conferences when they have traditionally held joint press conferences, is.
Moreover, Leonard reports that there “was some hope” from members of the front office and personnel department that Daboll would get the boot.
Whether Schoen and Daboll are working in tandem or not, and whether their union is forced or not, they both share a common goal: Winning. Without that, they’ll both find themselves on the street at this time next year.
Marshon Lattimore takes drastic action to rekindle old magic with Commanders – Ryan McCafferty, RiggosRag.com
Washington’s cornerback may want to return to his college form.
Marshon Lattimore was acquired by the Washington Commanders ahead of the 2024 trade deadline with high hopes that he could be the type of lockdown cornerback to turn around the team’s struggling defensive backfield. Suffice it to say, the early results were mixed.
Lattimore only played in five games for the Commanders — two in the regular season and three in the playoffs — as a lingering hamstring injury kept him otherwise sidelined. The Pro Bowler was never 100 percent healthy when he did suit up, which brought plenty of complications.
A full offseason to rest up and fully acclimate himself to Washington should help him get back to his high-caliber performance levels. Perhaps symbolically, he’ll have a new jersey number too.
Commanders cornerback Marshon Lattimore is changing his number for the 2025 season
The No. 2 became available due to wide receiver Dyami Brown’s departure from the Commanders to the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency. Lattimore has taken it.
The longtime New Orleans Saints star will join Mike Sainristil (No. 0) in giving the Commanders a pair of starting cornerbacks both wearing single-digit numbers.
It may take some time to get used to seeing Lattimore in any number that isn’t No. 23. He wore it throughout his entire eight-year tenure with the Saints as well as during his five games with Washington last season. But as he seeks a fresh start for his first full Commanders campaign, it feels like the right time to make the change.
This also happens to be his old college number from his Ohio State days. Perhaps this shift can rekindle his magic providing Lattimore gets a better run of luck on the health front. Commanders fans will be hoping that’s the case.
Dan Campbell on tush push: Eagles found something, it’s up to everybody else to stop it – Michael David Smith, NBC Sports
Some NFC coaches think the Tush Push should stay.
Lions coach Dan Campbell says the Eagles’ tush push needs to be stopped by opposing defenses, not a change to the NFL rulebook.
Campbell was asked at the league meeting if the tush push should remain legal, and he made clear that he doesn’t think it’s fair to pass a rule designed to stop one team from a successful play it has devised.
“I am of the school that they found something and it’s up to everybody else to stop it. So I’m a hard yes,” Campbell said.
Campbell said his own team has no plans to use the tush push, but that doesn’t mean other teams that can do it effectively shouldn’t be allowed to.
“We don’t run that. Jared Goff, it doesn’t mean we’re not going to quarterback sneak, but we don’t do that,” Campbell said.
The Eagles do it, and do it well, and Campbell thinks the way to stop them is on the field and not by a vote at an owners’ meeting.
