​​Good morning, New York Giants fans! From Big Blue View Other Giant observations O’Connor: In his heart, John Harbaugh always knew he was meant to be a Giant | The Athletic Two days after he was fired by the Baltimore Ravens, John Harbaugh used the word “we” when he talked about the New York Giants. He did not catch himself or correct himself in our phone conversation, because it sounded right. It felt right. “I think we can win games next year with this roster and the players coming back,” Harbaugh said. At age 63, Harbaugh wanted this monumental challenge in the worst way. “This is the job for me,” Harbaugh said that night last week. Former Raven on what Giant players are in store for Harbaugh is a great guy at whom the buck will stop. He’s a veteran with a track record. Players will respect his reputation, and coaches will be drawn to his staff. He was the best hire, and the right hire, and accordingly the Giants refused to let anyone else talk to him. Success isn’t guaranteed — it never is in the NFL — but this a successful hire. It’s a winning week in Giants history. It won’t count in the record books and might be forgotten to time. But in January of 2026, the Giants are 1-0. If it’s true that meeting with (for two hours, one-on-one!) and studying Dart played a big role in Harbaugh’s decision—so much so that Harbaugh pulled the plug on other chats—that’s a pretty bullish signal about the kid, the kind that could attract other top coaches and athletes to the franchise like a magnet. Harbaugh is expected to bring offensive coordinator Todd Monken—the architect of a 2024 Ravens unit that led the NFL in total offense and rushing—with him to New York, and Monken’s schemes would dovetail nicely with Dart’s dual-threat athleticism. But with a still-high first-round draft pick, a favorable schedule, a coach getting a fresh start, and a young fun core of rising stars to whom Harbaugh can say I chose you, there’s a lot to love about the upcoming Giants season—and what can happen when you finally get the right guy in the building. The inside story of how John Harbaugh became Giants coach, and the impact | The Record There’s just something different about when Harbaugh walks into any room with anyone in the Giants organization, and the feeling is palpable. His voice is the one that matters. Everyone sits a little straighter, shakes the early-morning and late-night sleep from their eyes and pays attention that much more with their minds and hearts. This was an orchestrated gamble by the Giants to swing for the fences in pursuit of their next head coach, and there were no guarantees Harbaugh was going to say yes. The Giants have stopped chasing ghosts of their own past; with Harbaugh at the forefront, they are finally chasing greatness again. John Harbaugh is exactly the leader the Giants needed to hire at this point in their long history to bring a level of credibility and competence that this franchise has been lacking for more than a decade. Harbaugh Mania, however, is just a wee bit over the top. These two things can be true at the same time. NFL insider Dianna Russini reports that Harbaugh entered the process with notable reservations about working alongside general manager Joe Schoen, as did many of the team’s other head coaching candidates. “There were candidates the Giants were interested in who had concerns about Joe Schoen. This was not a ‘nobody cared about Joe Schoen’ storyline — that is not true,” Russini said on Scoopy City. “I know that John Harbaugh entered this interview process with those concerns. He did a lot of homework, making calls to Brian Daboll and to people with connections to Joe Schoen who have known him for years, just to understand what he’s about and whether he felt he could work with him. From my understanding, he signed off on it. He thinks it can work, and he enjoyed those conversations. Joe was calling him every single day since [Steve] Bisciotti fired Harbaugh — they talked on the phone every day.” Inside how the Giants landed John Harbaugh — and what’s next for franchise | New York Post The list of coaches tied to Harbaugh who are expected to get strong consideration include his Ravens coordinators Todd Monken (offensive) and Zach Orr (defensive), former Ravens player Jim Leonhard, and former Ravens position coaches Anthony Weaver and Dennard Wilson. Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti’s recent criticisms of Harbaugh’s staff suggests that he won’t stand in the way of many assistants following their old boss to East Rutherford. The list of in-house assistants who could be options to be retained is headed by outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen — who was impressive as interim defensive coordinator and is on the Cowboys’ radar as a play-caller — and offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo. Prior to accepting the job, Harbaugh reportedly contacted positional coaches from former head coach Brian Daboll’s staff with whom he had no previous relationship to pick their brains on the roster for more than 30 minutes at a time. But not all of the assistants received such calls, sources told The Post. Yep Jameis breaking down his first touchdown reception of his career One 2026 free agent that every NFL team can’t afford to lose | PFF New York Giants: T Jermaine Eluemunor The Giants may have finished with four or fewer wins for the second straight season, but reasons for hope have slowly permeated the organization. With a new head coach and young pieces on both sides of the ball, the team could turn things around — especially if Eluemunor returns. There hasn’t been much positivity surrounding New York since 2024, but Eluemunor warrants that type of praise. Over the past two seasons, the right tackle ranks 16th among qualified tackles in PFF pass-blocking grade (76.8) while

Robert Forgione asks: Do you know if Jaxson will be working with Jordan Palmer or any other QB coaches this offseason? Is this something that the team would suggest or is it strictly on the player? Ed says: Robert, Jaxson Dart has worked for several years with coaches from 3DQB. He said at the end of the season that part of his offseason will be spent doing so once again. John Brazel asks: I’ve been a diehard Giants fan all my life, the past 14 years have been brutal to say the least. However, what I watched this year has given me a lot of optimism about the future. Yes, the defense heavily underperformed, but we actually had a respectable offense and if a few bounces went our way it could have looked even better. If we don’t fall apart against Dallas, Denver, Chicago, Green Bay we would be sitting at 8-9 vs 4-13. How differently would the narrative be then? Personally, I think Schoen has done really well re-stocking the talent. With that said, here is my question: With all the mock drafts linking us to a WR, Tate or Tyson, what are your thoughts on us targeting Arvell Reece if he’s there at 5. We haven’t had that middle of the defense tone setter in a long time. Someone who can go sideline to sideline and be a tackling machine. To me, that’s a good way to shore up our run defense and could totally transform our defense. Ed says: John, while I recognize the kind of talent Arvell Reese is I am not a fan of the Giants drafting him. Reese, to me is what Micah Parsons and Abdul Carter were before him. Impact players, yes, but that isn’t what I mean. They are edge defenders masquerading as collegiate off-ball linebackers. Reese’s best usage in the NFL, in my view, will be as an edge defender. The Giants already have Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Carter. Even if they trade Thibodeaux, drafting Reese still leaves them with the three players for two spots with one player likely spending a lot of time playing a position where he isn’t being best utilized problem. I don’t know that drafting a wide receiver like Carnell Tate or Jordyn Tyson is the right play, either. I just don’t think drafting a player who’s best spot is a place where you are already overstocked is the best use of that draft resource. Add something you don’t already have. Raymond Dansereau asks: Teams always say now that they’re “casting a wide net” with HC searches. I’m wondering if this is connected to the Rooney Rule and the need to interview two minority coaches in person. Then this means you also need to interview enough other coaches to make it look like you didn’t just bring those minority candidates in to check the box (thank you, Brian Flores). It seems to make the coaching search more inefficient and costly though, and require a lot more in-person interviews than might otherwise be normal. Could this be an unintended consequence of the Rooney rule? Or is it really just a case of teams wanting to talk to more people in person anyway? Ed says: Raymond, I don’t think they say they are “casting a wide net” because of the Rooney Rule. I do believe the Rooney Rule, combined with the new rule that prohibits in-person interviews with candidates who are employed by other teams until January 19 (after the Divisional Round of the playoffs) has slowed the hiring process. I see that as a good thing. It does force teams to interview minority candidates, of course. It also allows teams more time to makes calls, conduct virtual interviews, and compile their lists. It opens the field to a broader array of candidates. Lou Catalano asks: Ed, I’d imagine that this is somewhat of a difficult and off-topic question for you, but I am interested in your take concerning the relationship of a beat reporter to the team that he/she covers, especially since I imagine that you have had interaction with the individual involved. Clearly, over at least the past 15 months there has been a reporter for one of the three major dailies in New York who has relentlessly called for the firing of Daboll and Schoen, and who since the firing of Daboll has continued to call for Schoen’s dismissal as well. I could understand a “columnist” expressing an opinion, but how does an editor allow a beat reporter to continually harp on what is an overtly expressed opinion? Could there be some personal animus between the reporter in question and the individuals he covers which is tainting this reporter’s writing? How should a reporter handle personal disagreements when reporting on a team? I get that dealing with the New York media can be difficult, but is there any scenario where a constant stream of negativity might have a deleterious effect and cause any individual potential hire to rank the Giants position as less desirable than another? Ed says: Lou, I am not going to use this space to criticize how anyone does their job in covering the Giants, or any other team. That is a decision between the writer and his or her editors as to what type of coverage they want to present. When I was young and starting out in journalism there was a CLEAR line between being a reporter covering a beat and a columnist. The columnist’s job was to express opinion or have a viewpoint. The reporter’s job was to report the facts, to stay neutral, to be objective. To NOT let his opinion or feelings show in his or her work. Social media and websites like this one long ago blurred those lines. I do not always think that is for the better. There is a difference, I believe, between having an opinion and writing with an agenda geared toward trying to influence an outcome. I try to