In the New York Giants’ search for a new head coach, John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens might be the Holy Grail. Is there really a chance that could happen?
Harbaugh, head coach of the Baltimore Ravens for the past 18 years, is in danger of suffering only his third losing season in that time with the Ravens at 7-8 with two games to play.
On Monday, the 63-year-old was asked by a Baltimore media member about his job security. Here is how Harbaugh responded, via the Ravens’ team website:
“It’s a great question. This is sports, that’s how it works. And one thing I always have believed is that, first of all, coaching at any level is a day-to-day job, and your job is to do the best job you can today, and to do everything you can to help your players and your coaches – if you’re a head coach – be the best they can be every single day. And it’s never been about keeping a job, and there’s no such thing as ‘your’ job or ‘my’ job. We have responsibilities, and we’re given opportunities to steward those responsibilities, and you’re given a job to do that until you’re not. And then I try to do the job, not try to keep the job, because there’s no such thing as having a job, you’re just doing a job. And so, my focus is on always – and it has been for the last 18 years here and the last 41 years in coaching, or is it 42? It’s up there. It has been to try to do the best job I can today and fight as hard as I can so the guys have the best chance to be successful today. And anything after today, I’m not thinking about, because it’s not given for us to think about. We don’t have control over that, except for the job we do today. And if we do a good enough job today, then the opportunity to do that job or a different job will be there tomorrow, and that’s what you hope for.”
Harbaugh was also asked if he had been given any assurances that he would return as Ravens coach in 2026. He deflected.
“The future is today,” Harbaugh said. “The future is the Green Bay Packers [Baltimore’s Week 17 opponent]. And that’s what we’re looking at.”
I agre wholeheartedly with Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, who said when he saw the remarks that the Giants “should move heaven and earth if Harbaugh becomes free.”
When I laid out my criteria for the perfect coach for the Giants, at the top of my list was ‘head-coaching experience; winning pedigree.’ Second on my list was ‘culture-setter; leader of men.’
Harbaugh is both of those things, in spades.
Harbaugh has a Super Bowl ring, albeit from 2012. He has guided the Ravens to 12 playoff appearances in his first 17 seasons. The Ravens under Harbaugh have always play with the kind of toughness, the kind of physicality, the kind of dominant defense first mentality that was always a hallmark of the best Giants teams and has been missing for several years.
If Harbaugh and the Ravens decide it it time for them to go their separate ways and Harbaugh wants to continue coaching — which his remarks seem to indicate he does — the Giants should waste no time finding out if Harbaugh in interested in the Giants’ job.
Is Harbaugh a perfect coach? No. We have seen some odd game plans and missed opportunities from the Ravens over the years. He would, though, bring the pedigree and instant credibility that could help set the Giants back on the right path.
After nearly two decades of working with a highly-regarded front office in Baltimore, would Harbaugh be OK working with embattled Giants GM Joe Schoen? If not, Harbaugh is one of the few coaches probably worth allowing to bring his own general manager.
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