John Harbaugh
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Mike Vrabel had high praise for new Giants coach John Harbaugh.
Mike Macdonald’s defense just authored one of the most dominant performances in Super Bowl history in the Seattle Seahawks‘ win over the New England Patriots earlier this month.
Yet, the Seahawks head coach could not have achieved that title without John Harbaugh, and Macdonald opened up about what makes the new New York Giants head coach special in to The Athletic.
Macdonald was Harbaugh’s defensive coordinator for two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens (2022-23) — he replaced Don “Wink” Martindale when he moved from Baltimore to join Brian Daboll’s staff for his first two years with the Giants.
But Macdonald also spent seven seasons as a defensive assistant under both Martindale and Harbaugh before jumping to the University of Michigan to be John’s brother Jim’s defensive coordinator in 2021.
Mike Macdonald: John Harbaugh is an ‘Authentic Leader’
Macdonald is just 38, one of the NFL’s youngest coaches to ever win the Super Bowl. He’s learned a lot from his mentor.
“I think the first thing with John is just the person that he is,” Macdonald said. “One thing I’ve learned is you can’t hide who you are. So for him to be able to do that at this level for this long, I mean, if that’s not the staple of what a real deal, authentic leader is about then I don’t know what is.”
Harbaugh is the son of a head coach — his dad Jack spent two decades coaching Division 1 college football at Western Michigan and Western Kentucky — and has spent about 30 years coaching in the NFL. But he still is evolved enough to support his players, even if it’s not what he grew up learning to do.
“I think one thing that John and Jim (Harbaugh) do that resonated with me is the support they have for their players of always having their backs, always putting the team first — and the players realize that,” Macdonald said. “They know when you’re for them or not, and John’s been for his players his whole career, and he’s a great example for coaching across the world.”
Mike Vrabel Has Strong Words for John Harbaugh too
Mike Vrabel is arguably the best coach in the NFL at the moment. He played under the legendary former NFL head coach and Giants defensive coordinator Bill Belichick with the New England Patriots, and is a two-time NFL Coach of the Year.
Yet, even though Vrabel only knows Harbaugh from coaching against him, the Patriots coach has the utmost respect for the Giants coach.
“I’ve never played for him. I’ve never coached with him. I would say just his record speaks for itself,” Vrabel said. “I have a lot of respect for what he’s done. I don’t have his secret sauce. I wish I did and to be able to do it at one place for 18 years.”
Vrabel, who was the Tennessee Titans head coach before joining the Patriots before the 2025 season, also gave Giants fans a scouting report for what they should expect from the Harbaugh-coached team this year.
“I know that his teams are physical, they’re sound, they play great defense,” Vrabel said. “They force you into mistakes.”