The New York Giants entered the offseason in search of a new head coach for the fifth time since moving on from franchise legend Tom Coughlin a decade ago. While there were solid options on the market, a perfect replacement for Brian Daboll emerged last week when the Baltimore Ravens fired John Harbaugh after 18 seasons overseeing the roster.
Once he became available, the NY Giants made an unusually aggressive push to land the Super Bowl winner, including a huge yearly rate and a boatload of funds for his staff to lure him to New York/New Jersey. Well, their efforts proved successful, and the two sides are reportedly finalizing a contract to make Harbaugh their new head coach.
Let’s look at the biggest winners and losers from the NY Giants winning the Harbaugh sweepstakes.
Winner: John Harbaugh
Without a shadow of a doubt, John Harbaugh is the big winner here. First, because he is reportedly set to get a contract worth around $20 million a year. Second, despite their recent struggles, the NY Giants have a strong ownership team, and the head coach job is still one of the best in the league. Third, the coach will get the funds to surround himself with the best staff possible, and lastly, he proved the Ravens gave up on an elite coach that many teams around the NFL were frothing at the mouth to get a chance at.
- John Harbaugh record: 180-113
Loser: Tennessee Titans
Surprisingly, the Tennessee Titans were viewed as serious contenders for Harbaugh’s services. And reports on Wednesday suggested they would get next in the interview cycle with a meeting at his house this week. However, that is not going to happen.
Hiring Harbaugh would have been a huge coup for the Titans. Now, they must pivot back to the available options, which apparently won’t include former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.
Winner: Jaxson Dart
NY Giants fans are very hopeful that 2025 first-round pick Jaxson Dart can be developed into a franchise QB. Well, he now has a new head coach who has a good resume for QB development. Harbaugh isn’t a QB guru per se. However, he has consistently shown he is great at hiring the right people to develop impact signal callers.
While he won’t go to the Hall of Fame, Joe Flacco was developed into a very competitive QB by Harbaugh’s staff and helped lead them to a championship in 2012. Then, when it was obvious they needed to find his replacement, Lamar Jackson was identified and coached up to be one of the sport’s best QBs.
If Dart can be somewhere between Flacco and Jackson, Big Blue fans would be thrilled.
Loser & Winner: Lamar Jackson
Speaking of Lamar Jackson, he is both a winner and a loser in Harbaugh’s departure. Reports suggested that his relationship with his former coach wasn’t great. So he’s probably looking forward to a new voice leading the locker room, especially if it’s a younger one.
However, he may also be taking for granted that Harbaugh and his staff helped make him one of the highest-paid players in the sport. The grass always seems greener on the otherside. However, it is far from a guarantee that Jackson’s next head coach will put him in a position to win two more MVPs in the years ahead.
Winner: NY Giants Defense
The NY Giants have some really nice pieces on defense. Brian Burns proved he is one of the best pass rushers in the game. Dexter Lawrence remains a top tackle even after a quiet season. Bobby Okereke is a rock-solid QB of the defense, and after a very slow start, Abdul Carter showed his massive potential late in the season. Plus, they might add an elite players to the unit with their first round pick.
If he had the talent on the field, the Ravens defense has often been top 10 in total yards and points given up over the last decade, and that occurred under three different defensive coordinators. Big Blue’s defense could take a big leap forward with Harbaugh overseeing the team.
Loser: Baltimore Ravens Fans
There are sure to be many Ravens fans who felt the Harbaugh era needed to end. While the team was always in playoff contention, Harbaugh had just one Super Bowl win on his resume after 18 seasons. However, fans eventually take consistent winning for granted and don’t realize what life is like when being in the hunt for a postseason spot is no longer a given.
The Giants brass understood that and wanted Harbaugh to bring to their franchise what he gave the Ravens for 18 years. It may not be long before Baltimore fans realize how good they had it.
Loser: Atlanta Falcons
Along with the Titans, the Atlanta Falcons were seen as one of the few teams that had a real chance at landing the 63-year-old coach. They surprisingly fired Raheem Morris after a pair of 8-9 seasons because they felt they had a good team that needed a better coach. So, Harbaugh made a ton of sense.
Now they must switch back to a coaching market that has some good options, but nothing quite as sexy as hiring the former Ravens head coach.
Winner: NY Giants Fans
This has been a miserable last two years for NY Giants fans. After Daboll gave them hope for brighter days four years ago, the product at MetLife Stadium has been a mess ever since. Does hiring Harbaugh guarantee a Super Bowl win in the next few years? Of course not.
However, he gives fans real hope of getting to watch a consistently competitive or better team for the next five years. That is something Big Blue die-hards have yearned for since Coughlin was ousted.
