New Giants intel details how much John Mara may have botched GM search by hiring Joe Schoen

The New York Giants opened up their 100th season back in September, and it has been nothing short of a disaster. After Week 15, the team is 2-12, on the verge of earning the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, and has created an environment of apathy for Giants fans. Just look at their 0-8 home record this season, with seats barely filled by those wearing grocery bags on their heads. Oh, not to mention the messages fans purchased plans to fly over MetLife Stadium, urging team owner John Mara to "fire everyone" from the "dumpster fire." That's how bad things have gotten for one of the most storied franchises in NFL history.

Giants have become frustrated with the regime of general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll, considering how the team has regressed following their 2022 playoff season. Schoen's performance has come under fire, especially after being prominently featured on "Hard Knocks," where he notably allowed Saquon Barkley to hit free agency and ultimately sign with the Philadelphia Eagles and have a historic season.

With that, fans have called for Mara to move on from Schoen and Daboll. Well, a New York sports journalist detailed what could have been for the Giants.

Ian O'Connor sent out a tweet on Tuesday detailing the Giants' general manager search in 2022, which saw Mara hire Schoen from the Buffalo Bills. O'Connor said the team "loved" Adam Peters, who worked for the San Francisco 49ers front office, but "loved Joe Schoen just a bit more." Then, there's the nugget from O'Connor that the team believed Joe Hortiz, then from the Baltimore Ravens, "was a bit nervous in his interview." But, Hortiz would have brought in Jim Harbaugh as his head coach.

Latest Giants intel shows how much John Mara got GM search wrong

This will certainly make waves around the Giants fanbase throughout this week.

Peters was part of the 49ers organization, which drafted most of its star players like Fred Warner, Brock Purdy, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and Nick Bosa. Mara ultimately passed on Peters instead. Now, Peters is the general manager of the rival Washington Commanders, and are on the verge of clinching a playoff berth with a 9-5 record.

As for Hortiz, he became the general manager of the Los Angeles Chargers last offseason. To the surprise of no one, Hortiz hired Harbaugh away from Michigan to become the team's new head coach, right after winning a national championship. Now, Harbaugh has gotten more out of quarterback Justin Herbert than Brandon Staley ever could, and the team is on the cusp of clinching a Wild Card berth, barring a collapse.

Speaking of, O'Connor mentioned back in 2022 that Harbaugh was interested in speaking with the Giants. They never interviewed him.

Yes, Peters and Hortiz are only one year in their new jobs, but the fans are going to look at both their performances in Washington and Los Angeles and openly question, "why couldn't the Giants hire them?" That's the position the Giants are in currently with Schoen.

Schoen has been criticized for undervaluing Barkley and every other running back, and for letting a defensive captain in Xavier McKinney join the Green Bay Packers, who currently has an NFL-high seven interceptions to his credit. While his rookie class this season has been lauded, fans look at the lack of depth on the offensive line and no answers at the quarterback position.

While Daniel Jones, who was publicly being replaced in the NFL Draft until he wasn't, has been the punching bag for Giants fans and the media alike, he did mask the other issues across the team. That has also highlighted the lack of quality options behind Jones, as Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito have looked far from the answers and are currently injured. It's gotten so bad that practice squad quarterback and journeyman Tim Boyle received playing time. While Malik Nabers has the making of being the team's next superstar, could drafting Bo Nix, J.J. McCarthy, or Michael Penix Jr. have been a better long-term selection?

Mara gave Schoen and Daboll the vote of confidence back in October, saying he had no intentions to make changes after the season. But then, the horrendous stretch of games happened. With the fan and national reaction being extremely negative, maybe even worse than when Joe Judge ran back-to-back quarterback sneaks deep in their own zone to get into better punting position in the 2021 season finale, one has to wonder if Mara will change his mind and opt to find a new leader on the sideline and in the front office.

But is Mara really the right person to find the right people to run things? If the 2022 general manager search, along with the hirings of Dave Gettleman, Pat Shurmur, and Judge, showed anything, it's that there's no real reason for Giants fans to be confident that he can.