The New York Giants zeroed in on John Harbaugh the moment he was fired by the Baltimore Ravens. They officially landed him on a five-year deal as their new head coach on Saturday.
The Giants went 7-27 over the past two seasons and knew that it was possible Harbaugh could shake free. They were doing their due diligence just in case for the proven, winning head coach. It proved valuable.
Harbaugh, 63, spent the past 18 seasons as coach of the Baltimore Ravens, going 180-113 and winning a Super Bowl before he was fired on Jan. 6 after they missed the playoffs. He succeeds Brian Daboll, who was fired in November. Mike Kafka served as interim coach for the Giants’ final seven games.
Harbaugh was considered to be the top coaching candidate around the league. He was the Giants’ top choice and landing him was a big step for the organization in what hopes to become a legacy hire for owner John Mara.
It also bodes well for Harbaugh’s brother and Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh who said recently: “As I told him, whatever team he goes to is going to be formidable.
“Just hope it’s in the NFC.”
Lucky enough for Jim it is — and the Giants won’t be playing Chargers in 2026. The NFC East, meanwhile, should starting bracing for a more formidable challenge.
ESPN Giants reporter Jordan Raanan, Ravens reporter Jamison Hensley, national NFL reporter Dan Graziano, NFL draft analyst Jordan Reid and NFL analyst Ben Solak answer the pressing questions on why Harbaugh landed with the Giants — and what’s next in New York.
As far as the Giants are concerned, why John Harbaugh?
Just look at the résumé. Why not? He’s a Super Bowl-winning head coach who has made the playoffs 12 times in 18 seasons. The Giants are an organization that has made the playoffs just twice in the past 15 years. They needed instant credibility. A league source who was closely monitoring their coaching search came away with the impression last week that their head coaching hire was going to have previous experience. That mattered a lot to them in this process.
Well, Harbaugh became an NFL head coach right around the time Eli Manning was celebrating his first Super Bowl in 2008. Several players have also told ESPN that they thought the organization needed discipline and a coach who had the track record to demand respect from the entire locker room the minute they arrived. Harbaugh does that. — Raanan
What are realistic expectations for the Giants with Harbaugh, in the near and long term?
A source said Harbaugh is expected to get in the vicinity of $20 million per season. So, obviously, the expectations are high, especially with a young quarterback such as Jaxson Dart already in place. It’s easy to say the Giants can be next year’s New England Patriots or Chicago Bears with a new coach in Year 1, but they have a lot of work to do before getting to that point in terms of roster building.
That might be Harbaugh’s biggest initial challenge — building a roster to his desire with the right people in the room. But make no mistake, the expectations long term are to get back into being Super Bowl contenders. The Giants and Harbaugh think they have the core and organizational structure to make that happen, and possibly make him the first coach to win Super Bowls for two difference franchises. — Raanan
2:06
Orlovsky: This is the best day the Giants have had since winning the Super Bowl
Dan Orlovsky and Andrew Hawkins react to John Harbaugh closing in on becoming the next Giants head coach.
Why did Harbaugh choose the Giants over other teams with openings?
Let’s start with ownership. They did a full-court press on Harbaugh and opened the vault. He’s getting paid handsomely and been given the go-ahead to build a sizeable coaching and support staff. So they promised the resources necessary to have a successful operation. Dart was also a major part of the sales pitch. Harbaugh did his homework on the quarterbacks from the available job openings and came away impressed. The two met one-on-one Wednesday during Dart’s visit to the facility for two hours.
The Giants also sold Harbaugh on their young core (Dart, WR Malik Nabers, LT Andrew Thomas, OLBs Brian Burns and Abdul Carter and DL Dexter Lawrence II) in addition to having the draft capital, salary cap space and financial flexibility to build out the team that Harbaugh desired. They were simply better positioned than the Tennessee Titans and Atlanta Falcons, among others who were interested in his services. — Raanan
How will Harbaugh and GM Joe Schoen work together?
The bottom line here is that Schoen’s presence didn’t prevent the Giants from landing their clear top option. As a matter of fact, he played a large role in the pursuit and recruitment of Harbaugh. We’ll have to see exactly how it plays out, but nothing to date says that Harbaugh isn’t willing to work with the holdover Giants general manager.
Undoubtedly, Harbaugh will have a significant say. That happens when you hire a head coach with this type of pedigree. The question will be how much. It’s definitely something to still keep an eye on moving forward. — Raanan
How can Harbaugh get the most out of Dart? What’s going to be different for Dart vs. Lamar Jackson?
First off, by bringing in the right offensive coordinator. All signs point to Todd Monken being that guy, provided he doesn’t get hired as a head coach. Monken helped Jackson get to the next level as a passer and the hope would be that he could do the same for Dart, who flashed as a rookie.
But there is work to be done. Dart completed a league-low 34% of his passes under pressure this past season. He should be helped by Harbaugh’s experience building an offense and system with a quarterback who makes a large chunk of plays off-script and with his legs. There also will remain a heavy focus on the running game. Philosophically that will never change. — Raanan
Just look at how Harbaugh helped Jackson at the different stages of his career. Harbaugh ran the Ravens like a CEO and had a hand in every part of the team, including the development of Jackson. In Jackson’s second season, Harbaugh promoted Greg Roman to offensive coordinator because of his expertise in a heavy run-pass option scheme. The result: Jackson redefined the game‘s most important position, becoming the first player in league history to produce over 3,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing in a single season.
When Jackson was set to take his passing game to the next level in 2023, Harbaugh hired Monken to replace Roman as the offensive coordinator. Jackson won his second MVP in 2023 and then recorded career highs of 4,172 yards passing and 41 touchdown passes. Harbaugh might not call the plays, but he creates a vision and environment conducive to the success of young quarterbacks. — Hensley
What are we hearing around the league on the hire?
Harbaugh was the top candidate, so kudos to the Giants for getting him. They were aggressive to the point where he didn’t even take any other meetings, canceling a planned Thursday meeting in Baltimore with Tennessee Titans officials late Wednesday night. My sense had been that people around the league felt the Giants would have an advantage due to their tradition and Harbaugh’s affinity for NFL history, as well as the presence of a promising young quarterback in Dart.
Harbaugh asked a lot of questions during his time in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Wednesday about organizational structure and future plans for the team’s facilities. (He’s coming from Baltimore, where the Ravens did a massive upgrade of their entire building a couple of years ago.) But he appears to have heard everything he needed to hear.
A couple of people expressed to me that Harbaugh was the most likely candidate to restore the kind of stability the Giants have lacked since moving on from Tom Coughlin following the 2015 season. — Graziano
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Why Stephen A. isn’t blown away by Giants hiring John Harbaugh
Stephen A. Smith reacts to news of John Harbaugh preparing to become the next Giants head coach.
What are the resulting coaching carousel dominoes now?
The Titans and Atlanta Falcons were the two other teams on Harbaugh’s short list, so they’ll need to pivot. Assuming Matt LaFleur’s extension gets done with the Green Bay Packers (which the expectation is that it will, league sources told ESPN Saturday), the next name to watch might be former Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski. He has interviewed pretty much everywhere and is interested in jumping into another head coaching job right away if the situation is right. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Falcons and/or Titans make a push to land Stefanski soon with Harbaugh off the market.
Teams that knew they weren’t getting Harbaugh are continuing their searches, and now that the first domino has fallen, we could see a lot of movement ahead of and coming out of this weekend. One ancillary impact is that teams that were looking at Monken for offensive coordinator could be out of luck, as he’s now the strong favorite to go with Harbaugh to the Giants. — Graziano
How could Harbaugh improve his new team at No. 5 in the draft?
Harbaugh brings a win-now attitude to the Giants, and the same could be said for the team’s draft strategy as New York looks for an immediate starter in the top five.
With Malik Nabers coming off an ACL tear and Wan’Dale Robinson entering free agency, receiver is among the Giants’ top needs. Ohio State’s Carnell Tate and Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson are the top names at the position, but USC’s Makai Lemon could also be an option. I projected Tate to the Giants in my mock draft earlier this month, and I love his polished route running and ability to separate. He caught nine touchdowns this season.
Right tackle could also quickly become a hole since Jermaine Eluemunor is scheduled to hit free agency and could cash in on a new deal elsewhere. That’s why I’m watching Miami’s Francis Mauigoa, my top-rated offensive lineman. He’s considered a plug-and-play starter at the next level. Utah’s Spencer Fano could also be in consideration; he has great movement traits. — Reid
How would you grade this hire?
Grade: A. The Giants have been cycling through head coaches for a decade since Coughlin retired and need a steady hand at the helm. Harbaugh brings plenty of team-building and playoff experience, and his work with a mobile quarterback in Jackson will benefit Dart.
One of the reasons Harbaugh ran out of road in Baltimore was his difficulty hiring the right coordinators, so all eyes will be on his staff now. Harbaugh is a strong hire the Giants were wise to secure before he had the chance to speak in person to other teams. — Solak
