New Giants assistant GM Brandon Brown preaches ‘progressive’ approach

Former Eagles exec spoke with Bob Papa on ‘Giants Huddle’

Rookie New York Giants assistant general manager Brandon Brown preached responsibility in getting the team back to respectability. That happened Friday in a chat with Bob Papa during the team’s “Giants Huddle: Front Office Edition”.

“The biggest thing is… the sense of responsibility,” said Brown. “This is one of the flagship franchises in the league. The fan base hols you accountable and it means so much more than just football. A lot of people depend on this and I feel like being a part of this organization, I don’t want to let anyone down. We have a collective effort to get back where we all want to be.”

Brown, 33, spent the previous five seasons with the Eagles, earning a promotion to the team’s director of player personnel in 2021. He was asked how familiar he is with Giants GM Joe Schoen.

“We’ve crossed over on the road in the college side. He’s someone I’ve always admired from afar. He’s a tireless worker and a lot of the traits I see in myself I see in him. And you always want to work with like-minded people. It’s no different in the business world when you network and you see people who you like and you like the way they operate and you say, ‘one day I want to work with this guy.’ With Joe we’ve been like peanut butter and jelly, just in sync,” said Brown.

“We have a plan and we have to execute … and we have the right people in place to move forward and get what we need to get done,” he added.

Papa suggested that Brown’s role is much like Schoen’s role was in Buffalo, under Bills GM Brandon Beane. Brown will handle player personnel on the pro side, but he’ll also be involved in college scouting.

“It’s like knowing the marketplace. You can’t really put accurate value on a player’s role until you know where he is in the market. Once we understand the marketplace we’re able to find sweet spots and find players within the margin,” said Brown. “It’s finding guys who may not be super attractive on the total market but it’s going to fit what [head coach Brian] Daboll wants to do.”

Brown’s answers were packed full of corporate-speak, as one might imagine from an NFL front office exec. Still, Giants fans in the interview’s comment section pointed to the former Fordham grad as an “underrated hire.” Reactions seemed very positive.

On finding the right players, Brown said “It’s not just going for the big splash [signings]. It’s finding one job requirement. We get that from having cohesive communication with the offensive and defensive coordinators to know what is the task thats being asked.”

Papa asked Brown about his time in Philadelphia under GM Howie Roseman. Brown said the approach he took was to make “progressive” decisions that other teams may not have been making.

“Football players come in all walks of life. That was done finding players in Canada, players who played rugby, finding players who came from small schools. If you have the developmental mindset and physical traits and the aptitude to learn, then it’s our job … to maximize you.”

For Brown, it’s the “synergy” and “collaborative process” which can allow a good idea to come from anywhere. Then, he can see “from a 360 view” how a player handles himself both on the field, in the building and in the community.

The question now, for Giants fans, is how Brown and Schoen are going to actually turn this team around. We’ll find out soon enough.