Giants GM Joe Schoen defends roster, points to talent when questioned about job security

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Joe Schoen defended his roster construction and pointed to talent already in place, from quarterback Jaxson Dart to receiver Malik Nabers, as a reason why he deserves to keep his job as New York Giants general manager and oversee the search for the team's next head coach.

Schoen on Tuesday at his annual bye week news conference acknowledged errors he has made along the way that have contributed to a 2-11 record this season and 25 losses over the past 30 games. He said he expects ownership to evaluate the football operations department over the next several weeks.

“I’m excited about the guys who are here,” Schoen said. “Have I screwed up? Have I made mistakes? Absolutely. Absolutely, but I’m not going to make the same mistake twice and we’re going to continue to get better.”

Schoen appeared to receive a vote of confidence last month from owner John Mara when coach Brian Daboll was fired. Mara said Schoen “assembled a good nucleus of talent, and we look forward to its development.”

The Giants have lost three in a row under interim replacement Mike Kafka to extend their skid to seven. Most recently was a 33-15 loss Monday night at New England that Dart called embarrassing.

“Two wins is not where we want to be right now,” Schoen said. “It’s not good enough. I understand the frustration from fans, ownership, the people inside the building and nobody’s more frustrated than myself. And it starts with me, and I’m tasked with trying to get this organization going back in the proper direction.”

Schoen said Kafka, who had never served as a head coach at any level until now, would get a look for the full-time role, assuming he is the one making the hire. Kafka said he had not thought about this as an audition.

“That’s out in the future,” Kafka said. “I’m going to leave that out there and just focus on what’s most important, and it’s the players and the coaches and the staff right now.”

Asked multiple times about his own job security, Schoen repeated the line, “I understand the question,” while voicing optimism about the future.

“I’m very confident in my staff, myself and our ability to get this franchise back to where it needs to go,” Schoen said. “I do have confidence in our ability and our process to find the next coach to lead the organization. I truly believe in that process, and I know we’re going to get it right.”

It did not work out with Daboll, and some of the mistakes include signing QB Daniel Jones long term and eventually losing franchise running back Saquon Barkley to free agency. Jones was benched and released last season on the way to New York finishing 3-14.

Bottoming out paved the way to draft edge rusher Abdul Carter with the third pick, and while he has now been benched by Kafka for the start of two of the past three games, Schoen said he is not worried about off-field issues becoming a trend. Instead, he pointed to that position as one of the team's strengths.

“That’s when it gets fun: when you’re building around a young quarterback, you have a good nucleus, you have a good left tackle you have a wide receiver that had a historic year (in his) rookie season, you got a good running back room, you got pass rushers,” Schoen said. “There’s pieces in place.”

When asked about a potential coach who might want his own GM, he responded: “The calls we’ve gotten, I think we’re going to be able to fill the job.”

The organization's focus is on supporting Kafka down the stretch, Schoen said, before going into search mode. Finding someone who can help develop Dart is part of the equation but not all of it, and Schoen said he wants an all-around coach for a group that has so far underachieved even modest expectations.

“I do believe there is a good, young core to build around here,” Schoen said. “It will be an attractive job for many coaches and I’m excited to get that process going as we move forward.”

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Joe Schoen, senior vice president and general manager of the New York Giants, speaks during an NFL football press conference, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Kena Betancur)

Joseph Schoen, senior vice president and general manager of the New York Giants, speaks during an NFL football press conference, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Kena Betancur)

Joe Schoen, senior vice president and general manager of the New York Giants, speaks during an NFL football press conference, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Kena Betancur)

Joe Schoen, senior vice president and general manager of the New York Giants, speaks during an NFL football press conference, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Kena Betancur)

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to revive his struggling government but faced growing calls to resign after a disastrous set of local and regional elections for his Labour Party.

As the final results came in Saturday, Labour suffered a net loss of more than 1,100 local council seats across England, lost control of several local authorities it had held for decades and was booted from power in Wales after 27 years. Anti-immigration party Reform UK gained over 1,300 seats across England and made significant gains in legislative elections in Wales and Scotland.

It was a blunt verdict from voters in elections widely seen as an unofficial referendum on Starmer, whose popularity has plummeted since he led the center-left party to power less than two years ago.

Here are five things we’ve learned from the elections.

Starmer insisted he would not walk away and "plunge the country into chaos,” and the dire election results did not produce an immediate challenge to his leadership.

"The right thing to do is rebuild and show the path forward,” Starmer said Saturday. “That’s what I’m going to do in the coming days.”

Starmer’s Cabinet colleagues expressed support, and none of the high-profile Labour politicians considered potential challengers has made a move. Health Secretary Wes Streeting, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham are keeping quiet for now.

But a growing number of Labour lawmakers urged the prime minister to set a timetable for his departure this year. British politics allows parties to change leader midterm without the need for a new election.

“There has to be a timetable,” legislator Clive Betts told the BBC. Another lawmaker, Tony Vaughan, said there should be an “orderly transition of leadership.”

Starmer tried to demonstrate change on Saturday by bringing back two figures from past Labour governments. He made former Prime Minister Gordon Brown a special envoy on global finance, and appointed the party's ex-deputy leader Harriet Harman an adviser on women and girls.

Starmer is due to make a speech on Monday in an attempt to regain momentum, before the government sets out its legislative plans on Wednesday in a speech delivered by King Charles III at the State Opening of Parliament.

The elections were a breakthrough for Reform UK, the latest hard-right party led by the veteran nationalist politician Nigel Farage.

Running on an anti-establishment and anti-immigration message, the party won hundreds of local council seats in working-class areas in England’s north, such as Sunderland, that were solid Labour turf for decades. It also made gains from the Conservatives in areas like the county of Essex, east of London, and increased its vote share in Wales and Scotland, new terrain for the party.

Farage said the results marked a “historic change in British politics.” He said he's confident that “voters who have come to us are not doing it as a short-term protest.”

Reform UK currently holds just eight of the 650 seats in the House of Commons and it’s unclear whether it could repeat its success in a national election.

The elections produced semiautonomous administrations in Scotland and Wales led by parties devoted to independence and the breakup of the United Kingdom — though neither has that policy on the front burner.

The Scottish National Party, which has governed in Edinburgh since 2007, won another term but fell short of a majority, meaning an independence referendum is unlikely. Labour and Reform tied in a distant second place.

Plaid Cymru (The Party of Wales) won the most seats in the Cardiff-based legislature, the Senedd. The party, which has an ambition for Wales to leave the U.K. but no plan to do so anytime soon, fell short of a majority but will likely form the new government. Reform came second and Labour a distant third in one of its most historic heartlands, with outgoing First Minister Eluned Morgan losing her seat.

The economy lies at the heart of Labour’s troubles, as it does for many incumbent governments.

Since ending 14 years of Conservative rule roiled by austerity and the COVID-19 pandemic, Labour has struggled to ease the cost of living and jump-start a sluggish economy against the tough economic backdrop of war in Ukraine and, more recently, Iran. Starmer also has angered supporters with attempts to cut welfare spending, some of which were reversed after Labour revolts.

Some in Labour say the government's achievements, including protections for renters and a higher minimum wage, are going unnoticed. Many blame Starmer, an uninspiring leader distracted by scandals including his disastrous decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as Britain’s ambassador to Washington.

But Stephen Houghton, the outgoing leader of Barnsley council in northern England, where Labour lost to Reform, said the problem “goes deeper than the prime minister.”

“This has been coming for 30 years around the country, in post-industrial communities, coastal communities, that have been left behind,” he said. “You can change prime ministers all day long. If you don’t change policy, it’s not going to change.”

The results reflect a fragmentation of U.K. politics after decades of domination by Labour and the Conservative Party, which also suffered major losses on Thursday.

The elections offered voters a rainbow of choices, including the centrist Liberal Democrats and the nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales.

But the big winners were populist insurgents, Reform UK and the Green Party, whose focus has expanded from the environment to social justice and the Palestinian cause under self-described “eco populist” leader Zack Polanski. The Greens won hundreds of council seats from Labour in urban centers and university towns and took control of several local authorities.

Tony Travers, professor of government at the London School of Economics, said the results suggest the next national election, due by 2029, won’t produce a majority for any party.

“So then you’re in the world of, after the election, two or three big minority parties trying to work out how they would govern,” he said — something traditionally considered “very un-British.”

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking to the media after meeting Labour Party members during a visit to AFC Wimbledon in south London, Saturday May 9, 2026. (Maja Smiejkowska/PA via AP)

First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney with some of the newly elected SNP MSPs in Edinburgh, Saturday May 9, 2026, following the 2026 Holyrood elections. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy meeting Labour Party members during a visit to AFC Wimbledon in south London, Saturday May 9, 2026. (Maja Smiejkowska/PA via AP)

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking to the media after meeting Labour Party members during a visit to AFC Wimbledon in south London, Saturday May 9, 2026. (Maja Smiejkowska/PA via AP)

Observers from the Scottish National Party (SNP) watch as votes are counted for the 2026 Holyrood elections, at Dewars Centre in Perth, Scotland, Friday May 8, 2026. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage speaks to supporters at Chelmsford City Racecourse, Friday May 8, 2026, in Essex, England, following the 2026 local election results. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

Britain's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks to Labour Party members at Kingsdown Methodist Church Hall, in Ealing, west London, Friday May 8, 2026, a day after the local elections. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)