John Harbaugh has been hired as head coach of the New York Giants. After an aggressive pursuit, the Giants have landed the most hotly sought-after coach in this hiring cycle.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported this morning that the Giants and Harbaugh are finalizing a five-year deal and that “Harbaugh has accepted the job.”
Harbaugh, 180-113 (.614 winning percentage) with a Super Bowl title and 12 playoff appearances in 18 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, was the Giants’ top target to replace Brian Daboll from the moment the Ravens fired him the day after the regular season ended.
The Giants’ ultra-aggressive chase of Harbaugh included a barrage of phone calls from GM Joe Schoen, co-owner John Mara, Eli Manning, Tom Coughlin and even Daboll, as well as a trip to Harbaugh’s home for a lunch meeting by Chris Mara.
The Giants are 13-38 (.255 winning percentage) the past three seasons, second-worst record in the NFL behind the Tennessee Titans (12-39 (.235) during that stretch. Since they won the 2011 Super Bowl, the Giants have the fourth-worst record in the NFL (83-145-1, .369). Since 2017, the Giants’ 44-104-1 (.299) are a half-game behind the New York Jets (44-105, .295) for the worst record in the league.
During the last two seasons, the Giants are a combined 7-27. New York fired Daboll midseason when the team was 2-8. The Giants went 2-5 with Mike Kafka as interim head coach.
The Giants have lost relevance in the league and in the fan base since letting Coughlin, a two-time Super Bowl-winning coach go after the 2015 season. They have had four full-time head coaches (Ben McAdoo, Pat Shurmur, Joe Judge, Daboll) and two interim ones (Steve Spagnuolo, Kafka) since that time. McAdoo and Daboll each got the Giants to the playoffs once, but those are the only winning seasons for the Giants in the last 10 years.
The 2025 season, during which the Ravens went 8-9, was only Harbaugh’s third losing season in his 18 years with Baltimore.
Before hiring Harbaugh, Giants held in-person interviews with Kafka, former Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, former Atlanta Falcons coach Raheem Morris, former Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce, Denver Broncos special teams coach Darren Rizzi, and former Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy. They virtually interviewed Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, and Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.
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