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Cover 3: What John Harbaugh brings to Giants

COVER-3-JOHN-HARBAUGH

The Giants.com crew members react to the hiring of John Harbaugh as the 21st head coach in franchise history.

John Schmeelk: Grand slam. Need more? The Giants got their white whale. Not enough? The best news from the Giants since they won the Super Bowl in February, 2012?

OK, maybe that final statement is a bit hyperbolic given the Giants won a playoff game following the 2022 season, but we had a caller to Big Blue Kickoff (shoutout Donnie from Queens) go with the Harbaugh hire over anything since the Super Bowl. To each their own.

Harbaugh was unique in this coaching search, given his success for one team over an extended period of time with few dips in performance while having multiple quarterbacks and coordinators. In 18 seasons with the Ravens, he won fewer than eight games once, and finished with double-digit wins 11 times.

Harbaugh knows what a winning building feels like and how to put that in place. He understands what is necessary to prepare his players to win a game every week, and what he needs to demand from his players in order achieve success. He will immediately have the respect of every player in the building with the understanding that they need to do things his way.

The Giants have not had a coach enter the building with his level of success … ever. He is the first coach in Giants history to be hired with a Super Bowl victory on his resume. Dan Reeves had coached in three Super Bowls with the Broncos but never won one. This hire could have the same impact that bringing in Tom Coughlin had in 2004, when he changed the entire tenor of the building. The result was two Super Bowl titles.

But nothing is guaranteed. There is a lot of work to be done. Coordinators and assistant coaches need to be hired. Head coaches are often only as good as their staff. The roster needs to be improved. The second-year quarterback has to continue to improve.

There is no question, however, that there couldn't have been a better start to the process than this. Giants ownership and the front office deserve as much credit as anyone can muster for closing the deal with the top coach on the market, and getting him to come to New York. The team's history, logo, and ownership still hold immense respect around the National Football League, and this hire proved that. Being in New York City and having some really good young players didn't hurt either.

Now it's time for the hard work to start.

John Harbaugh's 193 total victories, including a Super Bowl title, are tied for 12th in NFL history.

Dan Salomone: Flight trackers. Insider scoops. Eavesdropping at wine cellars in Mediterranean restaurants. Only coaches of John Harbaugh's caliber could create that type of drama, but it's well worth the price of admission. With Harbaugh, the Giants hope MetLife Stadium will again be a theater for big games when calendars turn to December and January. That is exactly what he did for 18 seasons in Baltimore.

Here are some of the numbers that best illustrate his impact.

  • Regular season: 180-113
  • Postseason: 13-11
  • Home: 102-45
  • Away: 78-68
  • vs. AFC: 128-88
  • vs. AFC North: 63-45
  • vs. NFC: 52-25
  • Night: 45-23
  • vs. Commanders: 3-2
  • vs. Cowboys: 4-1
  • vs. Eagles: 3-2
  • September: 38-23
  • October: 38-32
  • November: 51-21
  • December: 48-29
  • January: 5-8
  • Outdoors: 167-105
  • Indoors 13-8

View the top photos from new Giants head coach John Harbaugh's coaching career.

Matt Citak: There is no understating how big the hire of John Harbaugh is for the organization. Not only does he bring a level of leadership similar to Tom Coughlin, but he also has a track record of success that is not found often when it comes to head coaches available on the open market. Harbaugh will immediately bring stability to the locker room, with a voice that will have the respect of every player right out of the gate. But now that the biggest domino in the Giants' offseason has fallen, it's time to turn the focus on a couple of decisions that could ultimately be just as important as the hiring of Harbaugh. At the top of that list is who will be calling the plays on both offense and defense.

One of the factors that likely led Harbaugh to accepting the position is the young talent already on the roster. Quarterback Jaxson Dart is coming off a promising rookie campaign, one that saw him account for 24 total touchdowns in just 12 starts, including a franchise quarterback record nine rushing scores. Dart's strong performance led to him being nominated for the Pepsi Rookie of the Year award, and his development moving forward will be a significant factor in the Giants turning their fortune around. Of course, Harbaugh found success with two different quarterbacks while in Baltimore. He won a Super Bowl with Joe Flacco under center, while Lamar Jackson won two league MVP awards, all of which came under three different offensive coordinators. Whoever it is will be tasked with creating a scheme built around Dart's strengths, and one that could help the 22-year-old quarterback take his game to the next level. But it doesn't come down to only Dart. The Giants hope to have Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo back this coming season, joining the likes of Tyrone Tracy Jr., Theo Johnson and other young playmakers that have shown potential in the starts of their NFL careers, not to mention any skill position players that could be brought in this offseason. Harbaugh is more of the CEO-type head coach, which adds even more importance to his offensive coordinator hire.

The same goes for Harbaugh's decision at defensive coordinator. The Giants have a number of talented players on the defensive side of the ball, starting up front. The combination of Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Dexter Lawrence is one that many defensive play-callers would jump at the opportunity to coach. As a unit, the group didn't quite meet the lofty expectations put on them this past season, although they did show more promise in the final stretch. Maximizing this talented group up front will be perhaps the biggest priority for the defensive coordinator, along with putting the secondary in better positions to succeed. In the 18 seasons under Harbaugh, the Ravens allowed the fewest touchdowns, points, and rushing yards of any team in the league. Given the defense's struggles in recent years, especially in terms of stopping the run, a boost to this side of the ball is exactly what the Giants need. That is why the defensive coordinator hire could ultimately end up being just as crucial as the hiring of Harbaugh himself.

At the end of the day, how Harbaugh fills out the entire staff, not just the coordinator positions, will be key to the team's success, both in 2026 and beyond. How many coaches will he bring from Baltimore? Will anyone on the Giants' current staff be retained? Will Harbaugh possibly look to some familiar faces that he hasn't worked with recently for some of these positions? These are all very important questions that will be answered in the coming weeks, and ones that could hold a ton of weight in determining the team's success in the near future.

John Harbaugh's 193 total victories, including a Super Bowl title, are tied for 12th in NFL history.

Screenshot 2025-08-01 at 3.36.49 PM

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