NY Giants wait on John Harbaugh; will interview Mike McCarthy for head coach

SB Nation

The New York Giants are thought to be among John Harbaugh’s top two choices entering a week in which the former Baltimore Ravens head coach will likely choose which team he coaches next.

Harbaugh, who coached

the Ravens for 18 years before being fired last week, has drawn interest from a number of teams with — and without — coaching vacancies. He is expected to whittle the number of teams he will consider down to a handful he will accept interviews with.

Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports expects the Giants to be at or near the top of Harbaugh’s list.

Two sources on interested teams said their belief is Harbaugh’s top choices among the vacant jobs are the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons in some order. Those sources added the Tennessee Titans are in third place, while a third, different source said there is real and mutual interest between Harbaugh and the Cleveland Browns.

Interestingly, the Miami Dolphins, who fired head coach Mike McDaniel after Harbaugh was let go by the Ravens, are not on that list. It isn’t known yet if the Green Bay Packers, another team Harbaugh has been connected to, will move on from head coach Matt LaFleur.

Jones said that his sources consider the Ravens, Giants, and Falcons jobs the best available “in some order.”

Jones also wrote that reports which surfaced over the weekend of Harbaugh’s demands from any new team are inaccurate. He wrote:

Harbaugh will command a high salary based simply off his resume, and some level of roster say is inherent in attracting a coach of that caliber. But a demand of $20 million in salary and full roster control are not required to land Harbaugh’s services.

Harbaugh could make a decision quickly once he begins interviewing. Long-time NFL columnist Gary Myers had this advice for the Giants:

“Be first in line and don’t let him out of the building.”

The Giants are positioned to do just that. They have already met Rooney Rule requirements by holding in-person interviews with former Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris and former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce. That means they can offer Harbaugh the job without needing to interview more candidates.

Ian O’Connor, columnist for The Athletic, recently told Big Blue View that “I think both parties really want each other”. O’Connor also reported over the weekend that Giants GM Joe Schoen has been “relentless” in his efforts to bring Harbaugh to the Giants.

O’Connor wrote Monday morning that his understanding is that “Harbaugh still has a high regard for the Giants job and their QB” after spending the weekend watching film and familiarizing himself with teams he is considering.

Mike McCarthy next up

While the focus is clearly on Harbaugh, Schoen promised to “cast a wide net” in searching for a head coach. He has done that.

Next up will be former Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy. Some snicker at the idea of hiring McCarthy, but his resume is almost identical to Harbaugh’s.

Harbaugh is 14th on the list of all-time coaching victories. McCarthy is 15th. They are vastly different in style. Harbaugh is a culture-setting, CEO-style head coach. McCarthy is an offensive play-caller with a reputation for doing good work with quarterbacks.

“If your biggest problem with him right now, looking at the way the last 14 years have gone, is that he struggles winning in the playoffs after winning 12 games in the regular season, that’s a pretty good problem to have the way things have looked in East Rutherford in recent years,” O’Connor told Big Blue View.