The Giants considered other candidates, but this year’s first team to make a hire made no secret of John Harbaugh‘s frontrunner status. After a near-three-day delay, the longtime Ravens coach officially took the reins with the Giants on Saturday.
A key part of the delay stemmed from reporting structure. The Giants had previously had their head coach report to the GM, who in turn reported to ownership. Harbaugh confirmed last week he will join GM Joe Schoen in reporting to ownership. Had the Giants hired another coach, however, senior personnel consultant Chris Mara said (via The Athletic’s Dan Duggan) the team would not have signed off on that coach reporting directly to ownership.
Mara also indicated the Giants wanted the deal done before playoff teams could make strong pitches. We heard of potential Bills and Packers interest; the Buffalo job is now available. Mara and Harbaugh had not met before a summit at the coach’s home, but the two have been regularly communicating since that initial meeting. Chris Mara is taking on more responsibilities with brother John Mara battling cancer.
Harbaugh carried considerable leverage, being the rumored favorite in a few cities. The Titans had a big offer prepared, but the Giants convinced the high-profile coaching free agent not to take that meeting. The Falcons did meet with Harbaugh virtually but were unable to schedule a second interview.
A high Giants salary, believed to be around $20MM per year, played into that. The Giants made a strong first offer, per The Athletic’s Ian O’Connor, who reports New York initially came in at $18.5MM AAV. O’Connor confirms Harbaugh will make $20MM per year; that sits $13MM north of what the Giants were paying Brian Daboll.
The Giants and Harbaugh entered negotiations about a deal on January 15, but the sides did not have a signed agreement until Jan. 18. Although Harbaugh had canceled his Titans in-person interview, O’Connor reports the AFC South team remained in communication with the coach’s camp during the time between his Giants talks and the agreement becoming official. Other teams wondered if the delay in Harbaugh finalizing his Giants deal meant there was trouble afoot, and O’Connor adds at least one other club was set to make a nine-figure offer to the Super Bowl-winning HC if his Giants talks fizzled. The Falcons hired Kevin Stefanski hours after the official Harbaugh agreement; the Titans hired Robert Saleh on Monday night.
A Friday report indicated Schoen’s status served as an impediment during the Giants’ negotiations, but Harbaugh is signed to work with the fifth-year GM. Schoen confirmed Tuesday (via Duggan) he is “not worried” about both he and Harbaugh reporting to ownership, though this is a major change in Giants business.
Schoen is coming off three straight double-digit loss seasons, but Giants ownership let him run the coaching search. No Trent Baalke-like situation formed, as the Giants were able to bring Harbaugh aboard with Schoen still employed. Though, this partnership will be worth monitoring given Harbaugh’s power.
As the Giants-Harbaugh talks dragged on, the coach and Chris Mara met at an undisclosed location Friday, O’Connor adds. Though, Harbaugh did respond with a shrug emoji (to The Athletic) in a text message regarding his belief he would end up as Giants HC as of Friday night. The Giants’ reporting structure had been in place dating back to Bill Parcells, who reported to Hall of Fame GM George Young. Fellow two-time Super Bowl winner Tom Coughlin reported to Ernie Accorsi and then Jerry Reese, but Harbaugh possessed enough leverage to convince the Giants to change up. Coughlin helped arrange one of the Harbaugh-Mara meetings, ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan notes.
While Harbaugh called the reporting structure issue “overblown,” it is clear this was important to the second-chance HC. Mara added (via Raanan) Harbaugh does not have true final say, calling it “collaborative.” It would still stand to reason Harbaugh will hold the hammer over Schoen, given the latter’s struggles and the Giants altering their long-held workflow.
“I know that’s a big deal around here: ‘Final say,’” Mara said. “[Harbaugh] doesn’t have final say. It’s collaborative, and he’s the first to admit that. If he has final say with everything in that building, he wouldn’t be able to do his job. He’s going to be the most important cog in the wheel. Let’s put it that way. But in terms of final say, this is going to be a collaborative effort between ownership, general manager and coach.”
Schoen said (via Duggan) no Ravens front office staffers, as of now, are following Harbaugh to New York. Front office contracts generally run through the draft, though, so May could be a more notable point on the calendar with regards to any Baltimore-to-New York treks. But the Giants will be expected to target ex-Ravens in free agency, SNY’s Connor Hughes notes.
Baltimore has some notable players unsigned for 2026. All-Pro center Tyler Linderbaum has been a Ravens priority, but he is not a franchise tag candidate due to the tag formula grouping all O-line salaries together. This leads to guards being rarely tagged; centers always skate to free agency. Baltimore also has guard starter Daniel Faalele, tight end Isaiah Likely, safety Ar’Darius Washington and fullback Patrick Ricard set for free agency.
The Giants have used John Michael Schmitz as their starting center since drafting him in the 2023 second round, but the Minnesota product has not graded well yet. Linderbaum will be one of the most coveted free agents available if he reaches the market. With Todd Monken likely to become the Giants’ OC, an aggressive Linderbaum pursuit would make sense. While the veteran wants to stay in Baltimore, he and the Ravens were not close on a deal as of mid-November. The Ravens have exclusive negotiating rights with pending UFAs until the legal tampering period begins March 9.