The New York Knicks let Isiah Thomas run the show for five years, despite a disastrous track record in Toronto and no signs that things were turning around. The city is doomed to relive history as the Giants decided to keep Joe Schoen and let him pick the next coach. In Schoen’s first four seasons, New York is 22-45-1 and has won seven total games in the last two years. That makes no mention of his many disasters, including letting Saquon Barkley go to the rival Eagles. Just like with Zeke, things will only get worse.
The Knicks hired the Hall of Famer in December 2003. They had missed the playoffs two straight years, but got back into the postseason in Thomas' first year. It was all downhill from there. They never finished better than 33-49 and missed the playoffs four straight years. At the time, it was the Knicks' longest playoff drought since the late 1960s.
Schoen has followed a similar path with the Giants. New York made the playoffs in his first year before falling off a cliff. Schoen hired Brian Daboll and fired him after a 2-8 start to this season. Now, New York is letting him pick his second coach. Hopefully, he doesn’t take the same path as Thomas.
Giants made a massive mistake that Knicks fans know too well
The Schoen era is littered with questionable moves. He let arguably the best running back in the NFL walk to a division rival. Schoen also gave Daniel Jones a massive four-year $160 million contract only to release him after one year. He hired Daboll and has been at the center of every disastrous decision that has made the Giants one of the worst teams in the NFL.
Knicks fans know the story. Thomas was known for his disastrous moves, including trading several draft picks for Eddy Curry. His draft track record was arguably his best asset. James Dolan even made Thomas coach the final two seasons, where the Knicks went 56-108 before the Hall of Famer was fired.
It took New York years to get back to serious contention. They didn’t make the playoffs again until 2011 and won just one playoff series over the next 15 seasons. Dolan deserves plenty of blame, but Zeke’s tenure was an absolute disaster.
The Giants are living the same nightmare and signing up for more of it. They are letting Schoen hire a new coach and draft a potential game-changer with the fifth overall pick. New York has found players to build around in Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo, but the Giants failed to look at Schoen’s entire tenure. He is following the same path as Thomas, which means year five will be the biggest disaster yet.
Fans of both teams can’t believe the Giants decided to keep Joe Schoen. It is like the Knicks giving Isiah Thomas more responsibility 20 years ago. Everyone knows how this will end. The disaster will only get worse, and Schoen will be looked at as one of the worst decision-makers in team history. Same story as Thomas with the Knicks.
At least, the basketball team is a contender now. New York fans have something to cheer for, even if the football has never been more disappointing. Giants fans have nobody to blame but ownership. Knicks supporters know that story well, too.