John Mara isn’t hiding his Giants expectations: ‘They know what I want to see’

There is no magic number of wins the Giants need to reach this season to satisfy co-owner John Mara.

A good start for general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll might be topping last year’s disappointing 6-11 record, however.

“I obviously want to show significant improvement over last year,” Mara said Thursday afternoon, “but I’m not going to make any specific guarantees or demands or anything like that. They know what I want to see. I have a lot of confidence in this particular team. I think we’ve added some good pieces. Now it’s time to show everybody.”

It’s a similar sentiment to what Mara has shared before past seasons, though he did not address the media the past two Augusts.

The stakes are a little different this year, because it is the first time since 2006 that the Giants have an aligned head coach and general manager working together in a joint Year 3, which often is the pivotal turning point for regimes.

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Mara joined Giants legends Phil Simms and Justin Tuck, and partner Hackensack Meridian Health at Hackensack University Medical Center to unveil a new 100th season custom mural on the day that marked the centennial anniversary of his grandfather founding the Giants for $500.

How close are the Giants to getting back to the glory days that marked the path to Thursday? Are baby steps in 2024 toward long-term improvement an acceptable outcome?

“I don’t know how to quantify that,” Mara said. “I want to walk off the field at the end of the season feeling like we are moving in the right direction, [like] we’ve got a great foundation here, and there’s every reason to be optimistic moving forward.”

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Though Schoen and Daboll danced around season expectations last week by keeping a day-to-day focus, Mara did not.

“I expect us to take a big step forward,” he said.

Mara and co-owner Steve Tisch fired former head coaches Ben McAdoo, Pat Shurmur and Joe Judge after no more than two seasons apiece.

With their third offseason at the helm, Schoen and Daboll, who led the Giants to a surprise playoff victory in 2022, drastically reshaped the roster by letting go of homegrown draft picks and impact players Saquon Barkley and Xavier McKinney, and rebuilding the offensive line in free agency, trading for edge rusher Brian Burns (five-year, $141.5 million extension) and drafting explosive receiver Malik Nabers.

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What feels different about this regime that could lead Mara to be more patient?

“One, the communication between the two of them,” Mara said. “They seem to always be on the same page. And when there is any kind of disagreement, they talk it out. Two, Joe’s process is so thorough. You saw a little bit of that in [HBO’s “Hard Knocks”]. The amount of work that they do in evaluating players, the amount of discussions that they have, it’s a very hard-working group. I just have a lot of confidence in them. They’ve both been a part of successful organizations. They know what it looks like.”

Seven training camp practices of mostly offensive inconsistency with Daboll in his new role as play-caller isn’t sounding alarms just yet.

“It’s way too early,” Mara said. “I’ve been in training camps all my life, and ever since I can remember the offense is always behind the defense at this stage of the game. I think the pieces that we added to the offensive line will help us eventually. I know it looks a little shaky right now, but I have a lot of confidence in this coach, and I think we’ll be just fine.”

One family of six, with triplets recently born at the hospital, was gifted 2024 season tickets, and babies born at affiliated HMH hospitals during football season will be wrapped in Giants’ 100th season swaddles.

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