Joe Schoen and John Harbaugh took the podium on Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. This will be the first time they go through the draft process together as general manager and head coach of the same team.

Here is everything you need to know as the combine kicks off with free agency also just weeks away.

GM Joe Schoen

📰 While this will be Schoen's fifth draft and free agency cycle as general manager of the Giants, it is his first in a few years without questions at quarterback. Anyone who watched Jaxson Dart in 2025 knows this already. So, how does it change Schoen's approach?

"It is nice to have that piece in place to have a rookie quarterback that played well his rookie year and know who you're going to build around. So, yeah, it's an exciting time for us and some of the other young, core pieces that we have. So you're really going to build it around Jaxson, new head coach, and some other changes within the organization."

📰 Schoen said there were "a lot of sleepless nights last year" trying to fill out the quarterback room. "We definitely have more flexibility. We have some holes, and that's where we'll see what's going to come up in free agency. We have some UFAs that we would like to keep. If we can't keep them, that certainly opens up other holes. Yes, you feel good about having the quarterback, but there are some other positions that we're going to need to fill throughout this free agency process."

📰 Schoen did not have a chance to attend the Senior or East-West Shrine Bowls this year due to the head coach search, so the combine is his first opportunity to get around prospects.

"I was behind, but this past week I was crushing it in the office doing film. This research for the head coach, it did set me back. That was my priority. First and foremost, it was finding the best head coach for the New York Giants. I spent a lot of time in December when I would normally be watching film doing a lot of research on the coaching candidates.

📰 As for free agency, Schoen feels like he is in a "good spot" with the prep. "In the last week I've been able to play catch-up on the college draft prospects and I'll continue to do so. But really going to start focusing on free agency this week with the meetings that we're going to have and the strategy and planning starting next week." The new league year begins March 11.

📰 Schoen feels "good" about where running back Cam Skattebo and wide receiver Malik Nabers are in their rehab process.

📰 Schoen has been texting with Nabers the last couple of days and "he's in a good spot." The plan is "hopefully for him to still be ready for training camp" but don't hold Schoen to it. "Every patient reacts different, and hopefully there are no setbacks."

📰 What has Schoen learned about Harbaugh in their first month together? "The leadership, the passion for football. He's a hard worker. He's a very hard worker. He's in there all the time. Great football mind. Not just Xs and Os, but the leadership that he brings, the plan, the clarity in terms of how he wants to build a team."

📰 Harbaugh's communication has also been phenomenal. "Again, when he got here, it's the first time you're going through everything together. How did you guys do this in Baltimore? OK, this is how we're doing it. OK, we're doing that exactly the same. Now we get to pro days. How do you operate? Do you want coaches to go out, not go out? So the process is the same. It's just overcommunicating on how we do things versus how they did things in Baltimore or how he wants it done. So they drafted well in Baltimore and they've won a lot of games. Again, we don't have all the answers. There are tweaks we can make that will make us better and I'm open to that."

📰 On organizational changes: "Those are decisions that were organizational decisions in terms of upgrading those departments and adding some new thoughts, ideas, philosophies in different departments. So a lot of upgrades I like. We put together a phenomenal coaching staff."

📰 Video and analytics departments will report to Dawn Aponte, who was recently hired senior vice president of operations and strategy. "The diversity of her skillset at the league office, the three teams she worked with before, been on health and safety committees, in charge of the salary cap negotiations in the past. So her skillset will help us across the entire football organization, so a really good hire, really good add for the New York Giants that I'm fired up about."

📰 Schoen's role "has not changed" as general manager. "I'm still tasked with leading the entire football operation. We're going to work in collaboration, like most good teams do, and it's going to be a collaborative effort. Everybody will have their role."

📰 There is "constant communication" between Aponte, Harbaugh, and Schoen in terms of how they are going to build the football operations and they are going to execute the draft, trades, free agency, contract signings, coaching staff, etc.

📰 Aponte is a "tremendous resource" and it's an easy transition "because it's a lot of what Kevin Abrams was doing, if you guys remember his role. It is essentially the same."

📰 The Giants, who hold the No. 5 overall pick among their draft capital, are "open to moving back if an opportunity is there."

📰 The Giants are also fine staying put, and there is always a chance to move up or down in the second round if it doesn't happen in the first.

Coach John Harbaugh

📰 On building a team, Harbaugh said it's a fine line between having a good day or losing in the NFL. It starts now with building "the best football operation that we possibly can, and out of that, create the best football team that we can."

📰 For the first combine since 2007, Harbaugh isn't wearing purple and black. "Definitely a different color pattern, no doubt about it. That's kind of been good. I've enjoyed it. I appreciate that. I was going to take this off and you can see the logo a little better, so that's a good thing."

📰 Harbaugh always feels energized in Indianapolis. "You get a chance to get around, you see the players, you have the interviews, you see the coaches, you see the GMs, you kind of size up your competition. Let's be honest; it's competitive. You get a chance to kind of take a look at who's doing what and how they're trying to do it. That never changes."

📰 On the reason to hire Aponte: "To be the very best we can be. It was an opportunity. I've known Dawn for many years through the league circles and have worked with her on different projects and things like that. Nothing but the utmost respect for her. And when it became apparent that she was interested in this particular job, it was obvious that she was the perfect fit for what we were trying to do. She makes us better. She gives us a chance to be our very best. It's been great working with her so far."

📰 Harbaugh had a chance to catch up with Mike Macdonald, fresh off his Super Bowl title as head coach of the Seahawks. Macdonald was the Ravens' defensive coordinator before he took over Seattle in 2024. "It was a big hug, congratulations, and he's always smiles right now. I can't imagine why. And well-deserved. Proud of Mike. One of my favorite people."

📰 Whether it's hiring Aponte or five more football analysts recently, Harbaugh said it's all "integration." The thing he came to understand over all these years is you have to be "aligned and you've got to be integrated, and everybody has got to be working together. There's got to be a shared understanding, a vision of what you're trying to accomplish."

📰 Harbaugh, Schoen, and Aponte are "working together to make sure that all of our systems are integrated."

📰 On what types of players Harbaugh is looking for this week: "You want a bunch of people that understand that that's what we're here for and that can fit the type of team we want to play, the values that we're looking for. We want good, tough, hard-nosed players that want to play hard, that are team-first type people, that like every part of football, meetings, weight lifting, practice, the preparation, like being around the guys and the gals who are involved in it, that want to go out there on Sunday and let it rip. That's what we're looking for."

📰 This week isn't just about the draft. "You do learn about the free agent landscape."

📰 Harbaugh spends a lot of time at the combine watching tape. He has an office set up because he needs "to get caught up and get ahead on seeing all the prospects. There's a lot of work to do."

📰 Harbaugh wasn't the only legendary head coach to depart the AFC North this season as Mike Tomlin stepped down in Pittsburgh. Harbaugh has "nothing but respect and admiration for what he's done. I feel just honored to be a part of that. The thing about Mike, the thing that makes him such a great coach is you knew what to expect from his teams."

📰 Similarly, how will the Giants reflect Harbaugh? "We've spoken on that a lot. You'll see."

📰 Harbaugh's advice to a first-year head coach is to be yourself. "And then make sure you understand and you stick to what you believe in and what you stand for. Make it clear what those things are so everybody else knows it."

📰 Asked about the "three-headed monster" at the coordinator level, Harbaugh said he is excited about his staff. "I think those three guys you're talking about are high-level guys. These are proven, proven coaches, and now the key thing is the integration of that. Making sure that we're organized and that we're building something that we can share together. Like I told them, we're not carrying over a system from Kansas City or from Tennessee or Cincinnati or San Francisco or Baltimore. We're building the New York Giants' system."

📰 Stopping the run is a "must thing" for a Harbaugh team. "It's going to start with stopping the run, honestly, and it's going to start with running the football. Once you can establish that you can do those things, then it gives you a chance to open up the playbook and do whatever you want."

📰 On defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson: "I've known Dennard for a while, worked with him closely. In the process, looked at a lot of candidates, thought about a lot of different types of guys, and first of all, Dennard's talent and his ability, his tenacity, his determination, I think he's really smart, and I think he has a great knowledge of the game. He's an excellent teacher. He's very demanding and yet he's very relationship oriented. All those things were part of it. Then at the end of the day, I wanted to stay in the system. It's a system that we built over a long time, and that's the system that we'll be continuing to run. He represents that, as well."

📰 What drew Harbaugh to passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Brian Callahan? "Over the years watching him coach. Look at his record; he's proven. I didn't really know Brian that well. It wasn't like we had a close relationship. But in talking to him and just starting to talk football in those interviews, Zoom interviews and stuff, I just became really impressed with his knowledge, and then also his demeanor. He's got a great understanding of every part of offensive football, passing game, run game, protections. If your dad is Bill Callahan, you're going to have a great understanding of protections, right? The fact that he's going to be able to just immerse our quarterback in that understanding of the game, especially from the protection standpoint but every part of it is going to be good for our offense."