New Giants General Manager Joe Schoen is a believer in analytics, even if he doesn’t necessarily like the term.
Schoen said he thinks the term “analytics” is starting to carry some baggage, but the principles of analytics are sound, and that the Giants will attempt to be forward-thinking on that front.
“I think we use ‘data innovation’ here instead of ‘analytics’ since it is a hot button,” Schoen said. “But I believe in it. Any tool that can help us win games or give us a competitive advantage, we’re going to continue to push the envelope and find out what those are. To me, if it’s going to help us in the draft process with the evaluations or the free agency process with the evaluations or contract value and who do these players compare to, if it’s going to help us with our practice schedule to keep guys healthy, keep guys on the field, if guys are running too much or working too hard or there are signs you have to be open-minded to the information. It’s a piece of the puzzle. It’s not going to drive the entire process, but it’s another tool that we need to use in order to get whatever competitive advantage we can and make the best decisions we can for the New York Giants.
The Giants have not yet hired their next head coach, but Schoen indicated that he’d like it to be someone who has followed the analytics on fourth down aggressiveness.
“I think intelligence is important. I think being progressive in your approach to coaching, whether it’s with analytics, when to go, when not to go, when to punt. I think you’ve got be open to all that stuff,” Schoen said.
For a Giants franchise that has finished five straight seasons with a losing record, Schoen is looking for a fresh approach.