A senior member of the Giants front office is leaving, but it has nothing to do with anyone jumping ship or being shipped out after the terrible 2024 season. 

Ryan Cowden, the executive advisor to general manager Joe Schoen for the past two years, is leaving, with the expectation he will join the front office in New England, reuniting with new Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel.

Cowden and Vrabel worked together with the тιтans. 

The Giants will allow Cowden out of his contract to once again work with Vrabel.

The Patriots do not have a general manager position, per se.

Eliot Wolf is the executive vice president of player personnel and is at the top of the food chain in the New England front office.

Cowden will fit in somewhere, but Vrabel is expected to have more say in personnel moves than most head coaches. 

Schoen brought in Cowden in 2023 based on their shared time together in Carolina.

They were scouts together for all seven years of Schoen’s employment with the Panthers and are close friends.

Cowden’s role with the Giants was an extra position within the front office and thus a replacement will not have to be hired. 

Cowden with the тιтans rose to the level of vice president of player personnel and was actually the interim general manager late in the 2022 season after Jon Robinson was fired.

Cowden was a candidate to replace Robinson but the тιтans ended up hiring Ran Carthon, who did not last long. He was fired on Jan. 7. 

The Giants interviewed Cowden for the general manager opening that was filled by Schoen. 

In his explanation why he and co-owner Steve Tisch decided to retain Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll after the Giants went 3-14, John Mara mentioned the front office as one reason why he craved continuity. 

“I really like the staff that he’s put together,’’ Mara said of Schoen. “I think the staff that he’s ᴀssembled 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.’’ 

Cowden goes to a franchise that has the No. 4 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, but the Patriots have Drake Maye and thus do not need a quarterback.

The Giants own the No. 3 overall pick and are in the market this offseason for a quarterback.