John Mara would be “very surprised” if Daniel Jones is not the Giants’ Week 1 starter at quarterback, leaving the synopsis at that.
However, it seems like it’s going to be up to new GM Joe Schoen and new head coach Brian Daboll to make the final determination of where Danny Dimes stands come September.
“They're going to make the final determination,” Mara said Monday. “You're asking me, 'Would I be surprised if he's not the starter?' Yes, I'll be surprised if he's not the starter.”
The Giants’ medical staff is apparently “very confident” the mysterious neck injury that ended Jones’ 2021 season six games early will “not be a factor” in 2022, but it stands that Jones has missed 10 of 47 possible games since taking over as the starter in Week 3 of 2019, with three different issues.
Still, of everyone Mara and his staff interviewed for their two openings, one thing rang true: every candidate was high on the former No. 6 overall pick.
“I think we did 10 general manager interviews and five head coach interviews, and every single interview was positive about Daniel,” Mara said. “Now, they're not willing to say that they think he's going to be the next Patrick Mahomes or anything like that, but they were excited about the potential he has and the possibility of working with him. That, to me, was reassuring because that's the way we feel as well.”
All that said, though, both Mara and Schoen believe Daboll can succeed in New York even if Jones isn’t the answer, and has just one or two more years with Big Blue.
“Daniel will get a chance next year and we'll hopefully be able to get a fair evaluation of him and if it doesn't work out, we'll go to plan B, but we have a lot of confidence that it will work out,” Mara said.
Added Schoen: “Absolutely. It wasn't just Brian's ability to work with quarterbacks. Again, it's all those things that he talked about: his leadership, his ability to bring a staff together, develop those underneath him, his relationship with the players. We're going to try and build a team and a strong foundation right off the bat, and a team that can sustain success over time. That's the ultimate goal. Obviously, the quarterback position is important, but the overarching head coach, I think Brian Daboll can do all that.”
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