One small step for John Harbaugh, one Giant leap into first place.
In the years since the New York Giants won Super Bowl 46 after the 2011 season, Big Blue has made the playoffs two times. New York has won a single playoff game and zero NFC East titles in that 14-year span.
Harbaugh is the eighth different Giants head coach in that span, including a couple of coaches with interim stints following midseason firings. When he took over, he joined an organization coming off back-to-back fourth-place finishes and two straight seasons with more than 13 losses.
Halfway through his first season in charge, New York is 5-2-1 and holds sole possession of first place in the NFC East.
Entering Week 10, Harbaugh is the betting favorite for Coach of the Year.
He's positioned to become the first Giants coach since Brian Daboll, their last full-time coach, to win the award.
How John Harbaugh turned the Giants around
From the outside looking in, it's impossible to detail every note that Harbaugh hit to change the culture in the Giants' building. It's also impossible to know how much of the culture change came from Harbaugh directly or started one year prior with its strong rookie class – Abdul Carter, Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo leading the way. It's clear that a culture change has happened.
According to interviews and press conference appearances from several players this year, Harbaugh appears to have set the tone early. Multiple players spoke about how much harder training camp was compared to the iterations of previous years.
"I don't think anyone would shy away from saying it was the hardest training camp of their career," right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor told The Athletic in September.
"Every time we practice, it's almost two and a half hours," said left tackle Andrew Thomas after the Giants' preseason win in Miami in August. "We're getting after it. Harbaugh runs a tough training camp. So, I think we were ready.
Giants beat writers like The Athletic's Dan Duggan pointed out the difference in practice scheduling from the previous Daboll-led coaching staff.
"(The Giants had) 10 practices in the first 11 days of camp. Daboll never held practice more than three straight days in camp," Duggan wrote in early July, before camp began.
Duggan later reported that the Giants were on their 16th practice by the 21st day of camp. In 2025, under Daboll, the Giants' 16th camp practice didn't come until Day 33.
OK, so the Giants were more conditioned than in previous years. They were game-ready when the season started, and they proved it by taking down the Dallas Cowboys with long, methodical drives on offense in Week 1. On defense, New York held quarterback Dak Prescott to 175 yards (still his fewest in a game through nine weeks) and lead running back Javonte Williams to 41 yards (second-fewest through nine weeks).
The Giants' "Sunday Night Football" win in Week 1 was Harbaugh acing his first test. The football gods had a much trickier second test for New York's new head coach: an injury to the second-year starting quarterback in Week 2.
Harbaugh's messaging immediately following the injury to Dart was exceptionally telling. The Giants were 1-1 after the injury, but the head coach projected confidence in a playoff run for his team. While Harbaugh acknowledged Dart was out for the "regular season," he did not rule out the 23-year-old from making a return for the postseason. There was no panic. The sky was not falling. Harbaugh continued to project confidence in his team.
The tests kept coming: star edge rusher Brian Burns' season ended with an ACL tear the week after Dart's knee injury. Still, Harbaugh kept the ship steady in New York, and the Giants kept competing. The players, it is clear, love playing for their new head coach
Eluemunor told Kay Adams last month that he believes Harbaugh is the best coach in the NFL, and that he's the reason the Giants have been able to navigate adversity.
"The way he has this team believing – and everyone on this team is working hard. You're seeing guys who people were counting out in prior years going out there, strapping some of the best players in the NFL," Eluemunor said, before stating outright he was referring to cornerback Deonte Banks.
"I think that Harbs, everything that he preaches on a daily basis – the way we practice, the way we perform in practice, the way we prepare, the way people handle things off the field – everyone wants to win, everyone's bought in in this building," Eluemunor said. "Everyone wants to believe in what Harbaugh is preaching: just go out there, assert your will against these teams, dominate the line of scrimmage.
"He's one of the rare coaches in the NFL that knows how to get the best out of everyone."
Perhaps that's the case for his choices in building a coaching staff, too.
The aforementioned Banks is having a career year after the Giants declined his fifth-year option under new defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson. Second-year edge rusher Abdul Carter is breaking out under Wilson and rookie linebacker Arvell Reese is dominating in Year 1.
On offense, Dart appeared to have total command over offensive coordinator Matt Nagy and senior offensive assistant Greg Roman's offense. After his injury, the Giants identified a quarterback with a similar skill set in J.J. McCarthy, and Nagy and Roman have done an excellent job retooling their offense around the newcomer since he took over as starter.
Amid all of the chaos in just nine weeks of this 18-week season, Harbaugh hasn't yet broken a sweat. His steady hand and strong foundation he built early have helped keep the Giants afloat despite it all. Sure, the other NFC East teams shooting themselves in the foot have helped, but Harbaugh deserves credit for having New York not only surviving, but thriving.
With nine weeks to go, the division is the Giants' for the taking for the first time in a decade and a half.
Coach of the Year betting odds
Here's how the top 10 in the 2026 Coach of the Year race looks according to DraftKings Sportsbook betting odds as of Wednesday, Nov. 11:
- John Harbaugh, New York Giants: +125
- Ben Johnson, Chicago Bears: +380
- Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers: +550
- Todd Monken, Cleveland Browns: +1000
- Liam Coen, Jacksonville Jaguars: +1400
- Joe Brady, Buffalo Bills: +2000
- Kevin O'Connell, Minnesota Vikings: +2000
- Klint Kubiak, Las Vegas Raiders: +3000
- Mike McCarthy, Pittsburgh Steelers: +3000
- Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions: +3500
- Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals: +3500
- Sean Payton, Denver Broncos: +3500
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: John Harbaugh has Giants in playoff position. Is he Coach of the Year?
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