The Giants have undergone an organizational transformation in recent weeks, starting with the decision to give new head coach John Harbaugh a direct line of reporting not to G.M. Joe Schoen but to ownership.
Then came the abrupt termination of long-time executive and senior V.P. of football operations and strategy Kevin Abrams, followed by Friday's announcement that former NFL chief football administrative officer Dawn Aponte will be the Giants' new senior vice president of football operations and strategy.
In an article regarding Harbaugh's first month on the job, Ian O'Connor of The Athletic writes this: "As another sign of Harbaugh’s considerable influence in the organization, Aponte will report to him."
Aponte's roles sound much more like front-office functions than coaching. Per the team, Aponte will be "responsible for strategic planning for football operations, analytics, salary cap management, player contract negotiations, compliance, and working closely with the college and pro personnel departments."
She'll essentially be Harbaugh's day-to-day conduit to Schoen and his employees. She'll be able to effectuate Harbaugh's wishes while he focuses on coaching the team.
Ultimately, she'll be able to advise Harbaugh as to whether Schoen and his staff are doing their jobs well enough.
For now, Harbaugh is happy with Schoen.
“I had high expectations for Joe, and I would say he’s lived up to those high expectations,” Harbaugh told O'Connor. “We’ve worked really well together. We talk multiple, multiple times every day . . . and a lot of things come up. ‘We hired an analyst, so what are we paying him? What did the Raiders or Eagles say when we asked for permission to speak to someone?’ Joe’s been a smart judge of tactics and situations."
Those assessments are based on Harbaugh working directly with Schoen for a month. Moving forward, Aponte will be the one gathering information on a continuous basis regarding whether Schoen is living up to Harbaugh's "high expectations."
Where it goes from here remains to be seen. If Schoen continues to satisfy Harbaugh and Aponte, Schoen will remain in place as the General Manager. If/when Harbaugh and/or Aponte decide that Schoen isn't meeting Harbaugh's bar, the Giants may have a new G.M.