The Giants.com crew breaks down the season-ending press conferences as an important offseason begins:

John Schmeelk: The Giants decided to stay the course by keeping Joe Schoen as their general manager and Brian Daboll as their head coach. Dan and Matt will discuss decision itself and the team's most important mission this offseason: finding a quarterback.

But there's a lot more work to do with this roster than just adding one player at the most important position.

"Quite frankly, I didn't think our defense played very well this year at all," team president John Mara said. "I know that when you have an offense that performs like that, you're putting more pressure on your defense. But we need to make improvements there. I'm tired of watching teams go up and down the field on us. So, I think that has to be addressed."

The Giants finished 28^th in defensive DVOA and 26^th in EPA allowed per play this season. If you prefer more basic statistics, they finished 25^th in yards allowed per play, 24^th in yards allowed per game, and 21^st in points allowed per game. The teams that finished below the Giants in all those categories are basically all teams that did not make the playoffs, spare an appearance in one or two categories by the Rams and Lions, the latter of which lost half their defense to injuries this year.

The Giants need to improve their defensive line depth and secondary. They need to stop the run better and allow fewer big plays (68 plays of 20+ yards – sixth-most in the NFL). The team also needs to take the ball away more. The Giants had only 15 takeaways. Only four teams had fewer – Raiders, Patriots, Browns and Jaguars.

While the Giants have some intriguing pieces on offense, there needs to be major improvement from a group that averaged 16.1 points per game (second-fewest in the NFL to the Browns). Does the team need another top playmaker at wide receiver? It can't hurt given only one team had fewer 30+ yard completions than the Giants' 12. It is hard to argue against more depth on the offensive line. Will that be enough to help whomever the new quarterback is?

There are plenty of additions to be made, but everything can't be fixed in an offseason. It doesn't mean ownership is not expecting improvement next season.

"It better not take too long because I've just about run out of patience," Mara said on Monday.

Meanwhile, Schoen was asked if he would spend the team's cap space recklessly or trade future picks to accelerate the improvement, and this was his answer:

"I would never do that. I understand we're going to build this thing the right way. I'm not going to do a Hail Mary for self-preservation or anything like that. We have a plan in place that we believe in and we're going to stick with that. Again, I've got a tremendous amount of respect for ownership and what they believe in. We have really good communication with them. They understand where we are and where we're trying to go. There will be no Hail Mary's."

They can use the contracts given to Jermaine Eluemunor and Jon Runyan Jr. last year as examples to copy. The team also has star power with players like Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns, Malik Nabers, and Andrew Thomas, but they will look for veteran starters and rotational players across both sides of the ball, especially on defense.

Then in April, the goal is to continue the success of the 2024 Draft Class. The Giants will be selecting in the top three of every round. The Giants need as many good players as possible regardless of where they play. Fill the holes in free agency and find more cornerstone players in the draft.

That's the guide for a turnaround next season.

Dan Salomone: For 18 teams, the offseason began Monday morning. For the Giants, it also started with a statement by team president John Mara, which said Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll will continue in their respective roles with the organization.

The decision was made following a Friday conversation with them that lasted several hours, after which Mara and Steve Tisch had conversations through the weekend.

"We came to the decision that staying with both of them is the best course of action for us right now," Mara said. "I think in Brian's case, he was the Coach of the Year two years ago. That didn't disappear all of a sudden. I still believe he can do that again. And in Joe's case, I thought we had an outstanding draft class this year. I thought we had a really good free agency period. I really like the staff that he's put together and built. I think that they're the right two guys to lead us going forward."

They knew it was "not going to be the most popular decision in Giant land" but believe it is the "right" one.

How can that be after consecutive seasons with double-digit losses that followed a successful Year 1?

"Certainly, the signs were not based on our record," Mara said. "However, in Joe's case, I think the draft class that we had was really productive. I think all six of those guys are going to help us a great deal. I thought the free agents we brought in, including (outside linebacker) Brian Burns, were really a big plus. I think the staff that he's assembled around him and the process that we go through now and the information that we have in making personnel decisions is better than I've ever seen it before. In Brian Daboll's case, I'm at practice all the time, I go to the team meetings, I watch the players and I watch how they react. I still think he's the right guy to lead us. If I'm sitting here a year from now and you're asking me these questions, I'll take the heat. But, at the end of the day, we've got to make a decision and we've made one."

Matt Citak: As the Giants now head into this important offseason, there is no argument on what the No. 1 priority is – figuring out the quarterback position. It is not only the most important position in football, but it's the most important position in all of sports. This person touches the ball on every offensive snap, is almost always a team leader, and more often than not is one of a team's best players. The Giants had four different players take snaps under center this season, which is far from offering a sense of stability at this key position. The Giants parted ways with Daniel Jones in November, while Drew Lock and Tim Boyle are both set to become free agents. The only quarterback is Tommy DeVito, who will be an exclusive rights free agent this offseason.

"That's obviously the number one issue for us going into this offseason, is to find our quarterback of the future," John Mara told reporters Monday. "Whether that be via the draft or acquiring a veteran, it's going to be up to them to decide, ultimately."

"It's the most important position in football," Joe Schoen added later in the day. "That's definitely important to any team in the NFL's success. So, that's something we'll definitely be looking at."

Finding your franchise quarterback is easier said than done. Since Eli Manning's retirement following the 2019 season, the Giants have had eight different quarterbacks start at least one game. But this offseason, the Giants will be armed with the No. 3 pick in the draft along with plenty of cap space to try to figure out their quarterback for 2025 and beyond.

Looking at the 2024 playoff picture, 12 of the 14 starting quarterbacks were drafted in the first round, including nine in the top 10. The Giants could opt to take this route and select a quarterback with their first pick. The other two quarterbacks in the playoffs, Jalen Hurts and Russell Wilson, were Day 2 picks, which is another option for the Giants if they don't like the quarterbacks available at No. 3. While there are two quarterback prospects that are widely assumed to go early in the first round, there are numerous others that will hear their names called later in the draft.

Regardless of what they plan on doing in the draft, the Giants are also likely to add a veteran quarterback in free agency. There are already some intriguing veterans that are set to hit free agency in March, and several others that will likely get cut from their current teams before then. Some of the veteran options are likely seen more as bridge quarterbacks, while others could receive multi-year deals. How the Giants address the position during free agency could shed some light on the team's plans for the position for the draft.

Figuring out the quarterback position will be of paramount importance to the Giants this offseason. While there are several different avenues the Giants could choose to take, one thing is abundantly clear – the team's quarterback room is going to undergo some significant changes over the next few months.