All eyes on Mara’s take on top two

ORLANDO – John Mara will be asked for a vote of confidence in Daniel Jones at Monday’s State of the Giants address at the 2024 NFL Owners Meeting.

The Giants’ co-owner will have his temperature taken on the possibility of picking a quarterback in the first round of April’s NFL Draft, as well.

But Mara’s QB analysis will only be a footnote to the level of confidence he shows in GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll entering year three of their regime with the franchise.

Because last season was a total disaster.

Schoen built an offensive line that couldn’t protect the newly minted Jones. Daboll oversaw the 30th-ranked offense in a 32-team league. Their plan to keep players healthy backfired. And Daboll’s lack of composure and divisive oversight prompted a coaching staff exodus led by the resignation of defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.

That’s in the past, sure. But Mara hasn’t addressed it publicly yet. Daboll hasn’t done an interview with the New York media since all of that came to light, either. So the most relevant question to all of the Giants’ 2024 operations is how concerned Mara is about what he witnessed from September through January, and how much pressure there is on his GM and especially his coach to steer this rebuild back on track immediately.

Not that anyone needs a reminder, but Mara is the conscience of this franchise, its beating heart. He always has spoken for the team, and with co-owner Steve Tisch recently not being a forward-facing figure, Mara’s words carry all the more weight when he speaks.

Not long ago, Mara’s passion and frustration might have prompted him to release a statement during last year’s maddening 2-8 start or after January’s ugly autopsy. This is still Mara’s team. Don’t misconstrue that. But the Giants’ co-owner is doing his best by all appearances to let Schoen build the roster and set the team’s narratives without public interference.

One year ago, though, at the 2023 NFL Owners Meeting in Phoenix, Ariz., Mara admitted the Giants still had a “long way to go” coming off a 2022 playoff berth and a Wild Card win in Minnesota. So it will be fascinating to hear what he thinks of his franchise’s direction now.

He could view Daboll as the 2022 Coach of the Year who simply slipped up in 2023. Or he could believe there are warning signs that the first half of Year One was the anomaly.

Whichever opinion Mara shares will be instructive.

And remember, this is not lost on anyone: Bill Belichick is a free agent, available to coach an NFL team in 2025.