John Harbaugh
Getty
John Harbaugh was deemed a home-run hire by his peers.
The New York Giants hit a home run in their hiring of John Harbaugh as head coach, according to his peers.
The Athletic polled current and former league coaches and executives, and Harbaugh was the overwhelming best offseason coaching hire according to the anonymous group.
Harbaugh was the first domino in this head-coaching cycle to fall, when the Giants and longtime Baltimore Ravens coach agreed to terms on a five-year contract Jan. 20.
The Giants, of course, had an opening after firing Brian Daboll on Nov. 10 and did not retain interim coach Mike Kafka. Daboll went 20-40-1 in four years as Giants coach despite winning 2022 NFL Coach of the Year honors.
The Giants Got a ‘Great Coach’ in John Harbaugh
The Giants had an expected win-loss record of 7-10 in 2025, despite finishing with only four wins and picking fifth in the upcoming NFL Draft.
So the fact they landed Harbaugh, who ranks 14th in NFL history in coaching wins (180) and boasts a .614 win%, was a coup for the Giants. According to The Athletic’s Jeff Howe, six of the nine execs he spoke with gave Harbaugh a first-place ranking and the other three ranked him second.
“Great coach,” a former head coach said of Harbaugh, according to The Athletic. “He has gotten the needed power in that organization. He will win.”
Despite finishing 29th in the NFL in total defense, the Giants have a lot of talent on defense. Brian Burns was a second-team All-Pro, and 2025 No. 3 overall pick Abdul Carter was fifth in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting after logging four sacks, 43 tackles and two fumble recoveries.
That led one rival team exec to compare John Harbaugh’s move to the impact the Los Angeles Chargers had when his brother Jim joined in 2024 shortly after coaching the University of Michigan to the College Football Playoff national championship.
“Harbaugh seems like a really good fit,” a rival team executive said. “I think he’ll do well. They’ll be really good with their defensive personnel right away. I think they’ll take a Chargers-type of jump when Jim (Harbaugh) took over.”
The Giants Coaching Staff is Experienced
The Giants reportedly filled their final offensive coaching vacancy Wednesday when they locked in quarterbacks coach/pass-game coordinator Brian Callahan, who became the fifth former NFL or D1 head coach on staff.
So when executives tout Harbaugh’s ability to win, what they are really recognizing is his eye for talent. Harbaugh does not call plays on either side of the ball and instead manages and delegates to his assistant coaches.
So having experienced and talented assistants was always integral for the Giants.
Unfortunately for Giants fans, they lost out on Todd Monken as offensive coordinator, since Harbaugh’s longtime offensive coordinator was named Cleveland Browns head coach.
Still, between Nagy, Callahan, running backs coach Willie Taggart, offensive line coach Mike Bloomgren and senior offensive assistant coach Greg Roman there are hundreds of years of coaching experience on the offensive side of the ball.
That, of course, will only help Giants’ budding second-year QB Jaxson Dart, who is about to become the face of the franchise.