New York Giants coach John Harbaugh recently sat for an insightful interview with Mike Francesa. Below, five takeaways.
‘Big fan’ of Caleb Downs
Would the Giants draft the Ohio State safety at No. 5? Harbaugh certainly did not run from the idea.
“Big fan, big fan,” Harbaugh said of Downs. “We favor Hall of Fame safeties, so if we have a chance to draft a potential future Hall of Fame safety in Caleb Downs, that would be just fine with me.
“We’ll take the best player. You know, when you draft that high, you take the best player. It’s not a need pick. It’s the best player pick because you’re going for the guy that’s going to be that kind of a player. You’re talking about a guy that you would like to see someday wearing a gold jacket if possible. That’s what the goal is with that pick. …
“That guy would be just fine with me. I’d take him in a second.”
Hiring a coaching staff
Harbaugh admitted that Todd Monken getting the head-coaching job with the Cleveland Browns threw a “monkey wrench” into assembling a staff.
“You’re happy for guys like Todd in that case, but kind of mad for yourself,” Harbaugh said. “So it’s a tough challenge.”
Fifteen of the coaches on Harbaugh’s 31-coach staff have worked with Harbaugh previously, and there are few inexperienced coaches on the Giants’ staff.
“We want to hit the ground running. I mean, our goal is as soon as those players come back, man, they see the program, it’s in place, and we’re rolling,” Harbaugh said. “We’re not trying to learn each other or figure each other out.
“We’re going to be practicing our game planning in the offseason for at least our division games and make sure that we’ve got everything ironed out. I wanted a bunch of coaches that know what they’re doing and also kind of know how we’re going to operate, know what the value system is going to be, what the expectations are going to be, just how things are going to work.”
‘Principles and methods’
Francesa asked Harbaugh about the idea of imposing a system on players rather than building one around them. Harbaugh gave a detailed, insightful answer.
“There’s principles and principles and there’s methods. So, a system in the sense of scheme in terms of like the way we teach techniques, those kind of things, that’s method. Okay? That’s changeable. That’s for the players. Like we want to build an offense around Jaxson Dart. That’s where it starts. And then from there, the rest of the players,” Harbaugh said. “Same thing with the defense. We have a defensive belief system. We have a structure. We have a way of calling defenses. But the defenses we call, the way we teach them, it’s going to be based on the guys. We got a front. Okay? We’re going to start with our front. It starts up front on both sides. That defensive front is going to be where we begin and we work from there.
“But as far as the way we play the game, our effort, our attitude, our physicality, our discipline, our football intelligence, all those things, those are things that you just don’t compromise. Those things are never going to change. Those are self-evident football truths … Those are things that are always going to be required for winning football teams.”
On Jaxson Dart: ‘I see talent’
The second-year quarterback is a big part of why Harbaugh took the Giants job.
“I see talent, first of all. He can throw it from different platforms. He’s got touch. He can throw it deep. He can put it in tight windows. All those different kind of things. He’s mobile. He runs around. He’s tough. He’s courageous. You certainly see that,” Harbaugh said. “ But I also see the intangibles. I see a guy really wants to be great. Wants to work at it. Wants to show up. Wants to study tape on his own. He’s interested in everything we’re doing. He’s interested in the draft, free agency, the roster. It’s fun being around him. The times I’ve been around him, it’s been a blast being around him because I just think he’s all in.
“Don’t we want to work with people who are all in for the common cause and that’s what he’s all about.”
Ownership ‘critically important’
Harbaugh told Francesa that Giants’ ownership was”probably more important that quarterback” in his desire to get the Giants job. Harbaugh said he had a “great partnership” in Baltimore with owner Steve Bisciotti, and he feels that with the Giants, as well.
“It’s the same way here. John’s in the office every day. Chris is in the office everyday. Those guys are amazing. So, yeah, that was a must. I love the Mara’s,” Harbaugh said. “We go to the owner’s meetings and I’d see John Mara in competition meetings and talk to him and get to know him. I always call him Mr. Mara. I still call him Mr. Mayor. He says, “Call me John.” I’m like, “Okay, Mr. Mara.” I’ll try to remember that. He’s such a a powerful, iconic, smart man in the NFL. …
“It’s a family-owned team with the highest type of family.”
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