John Harbaugh-Giants noise is not quieting. Although eight HC jobs are now open, the Giants continue to find themselves in the thick of a race that has not technically started yet.
The recently fired head coach is not planning to schedule interviews until Monday, according to the New York Daily News’ Gary Myers, but the Giants are believed to have engaged in at least four conversations with the newly available leader.
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They have kept in “close contact” with Harbaugh ahead of an expected interview, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini tweets. This has lasted since minutes after his Ravens firing, when as many as nine teams contacted him. The Giants were then viewed as preparing an aggressive run at the proven winner.
A Harbaugh-Giants meeting is likely to occur midway through next week, per ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan, who passes along one reason Harbaugh is believed to be interested in the New York job. Jaxson Dart represents a key reason for the Super Bowl-winning HC’s interest, with Raanan noting the 2025 first-round pick is believed to be a “significant” driver for Harbaugh.
The Dolphins are expected to launch a pursuit of Harbaugh, though Myers notes they had yet to contact him as of late Thursday night, but Miami has a major quarterback question in the event the team will move on from Tua Tagovailoa at a historically expensive cost. Other HC-needy teams in this year’s cycle do not look to have a long-term QB on their roster (Browns, Cardinals, Raiders) or employ one with persistent health issues (Falcons). The jury certainly has not reached a verdict on Dart, but he showed promise as a rookie.
Harbaugh, 63, would have a fixer-upper on his hands in New York. The Giants have many holes along their offensive line, potentially needing three to four new starters alongside Andrew Thomas, and their defense ranked 26th in scoring and 28th in yardage despite Abdul Carter‘s arrival and the signings of Paulson Adebo and Jevon Holland.
Harbaugh has only worked with GMs groomed by the Ravens — Ozzie Newsome, Eric DeCosta — but Joe Schoen does not (as of now, at least) appear to be a dealbreaker for the in-demand candidate. A coach of Harbaugh’s stature, however, would naturally have some leeway to cut into Schoen’s full-on roster control — power he wielded during the Brian Daboll era — if that is something he seeks during this hotly contested derby.
The Falcons have also come up as an interested team, and mutual interest may exist between the coach and the Browns. The Dolphins made a point to fire Mike McDaniel after Harbaugh became available. Stephen Ross has shown Harbaugh interest in the past — including via trade ahead in the late 2010s, before the team’s Brian Flores hire — but the owner is believed to have fired McDaniel independent of Harbaugh’s status. Still, Miami will likely be in the mix here soon. But the Giants have been the team most closely connected to him thus far.