Retired offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz had an unfortunate two seasons with the New York Giants, having been signed to play a major role before injuries completely derailed his tenure.
Many fans have criticized Schwartz since his departure following the 2015 season, but he harbors no ill-will towards the organization or the coaching staff led by Tom Coughlin.
“They took great care of me. Unfortunately, I just kept getting hurt. I mean, there’s nothing I could do about that, obviously,” Schwartz told WFAN’s Moose and Maggie. “They did really good with the families. Any time you needed something they were there. I liked Coughlin and I liked the ownership.”
One thing Schwartz didn’t like was the locker room atmosphere and some of his teammates, who he called “snitches.”
“There’s just snitches everywhere, man. Everyone is snitching on each other in the locker room; everything gets back to the coaches,” Schwartz said. “I don’t know if things have changed now.
“Interesting locker room. Interesting place to be. It’s unique — it was a unique place.”
Schwartz said he was able to differentiate the organization from the locker room, but that it ultimately blended together as one experience and it wasn’t necessarily what so many other former Giants have detailed.
“Things that happened in the locker room would get up to the coach, and I just never been [in] a place where there were people telling on everybody. Like, if you said something it would get to a coach,” Schwartz said. “I was like, ‘oh, okay… you can’t just have a moment in the locker room to talk.’
“I had disagreements at times about where my position and where I was playing, and I felt there was a disconnect between the front office and my coaches about where I was supposed to be playing.”
Despite his frustration with the locker room, Schwartz admits there was one person who stood tall above the rest and never made waves.
“Eli [Manning] is fantastic. He gets a bad wrap, man. He’s great,” Schwartz said. “I love Eli.”
