One AFC Executive summed up the news of the Giants signing John Harbaugh best (via @Schultz_Report): “Vrabel to New England last year is John Harbaugh to the Giants in 2026. Mark it down now. A+ hire.”
It’s a great day for Giants fans. Why is a 63 year old HC hire so hyped? We discussed this in the last two posts and don’t really need to repeat that thought process much. Harbaugh will bring a reset to this organization that’s been sorely missing since McAdoo, Shurmur, Judge and Daboll. They could have gotten a reset also from McCarthy and/or Tomlin. But Harbaugh is a much better choice than those two. The entire NFL knows it. The Giants know it. And yes, even the fans know it. Harbaugh is not perfect. But the transformation of this franchise should be rapid. I’m not expecting playoffs next year, but we should immediately see accountability, discipline, and competitiveness.
One way to summarize the hiring of John Harbaugh is certainty of service: it raises the floor significantly while permitting as high a ceiling as possible. In 18 seasons as HC, Harbaugh had one single season with less than 8 wins. I fully expect 95%+ competitiveness. To contrast, since 2013 the Giants have had 15% competitiveness. That’s why this signing is so critical to this organization.
The focus after the signing is what steps Harbaugh takes to get the Giants back on track. Bricillo is on the last year of his contract. KEEP HIM. Re every other coach on this staff, I don’t have a strong enough opinion of whether to keep them or not. I’m sure many/most will not be retained. Harbaugh will want to bring in his guys who he knows and trusts. And maybe guys like former HC Mike McDaniel from Miami as OC. That’s a Wonder-approved move. (Update a few hrs later is that former Baltimore OC Todd Monken is likely to be the next Giants OC.) Would he like to work with both Harbaugh and Dart? The dividends of now having an established successful NFL Head Coach are right there in plain sight.
The roster will take shape. Yes, Harbaugh will collaborate with Schoen. Schoen got and used feedback from his coaching staff when drafting. I believe we are going to get more Baltimore Way.
We will have plenty of time to talk draft, but I will say it here right now: the Giants have many of the pieces, but they don’t have the soldiers. They desperately need the Round 2 and Round 3 solid starters that you get by trading down. I would trade down multiple times completely out of Round 1 and get a slew of Round 2 guys. I’m sure it’s going to be tempting to take another impact player at 1.05. I think we actually have those on this roster. We need the solid starters. It’s a lot easier to get there with a bonafide Head Coach. Onward to 2026. A competitive season awaits.