WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — At the end of the 2025 season, New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton told media that he hoped the team would hire a Coughlin-esque head coach. The Giants, of course, hired John Harbaugh, an old-school coach with a Super Bowl title and an 18-year track record filled with success.
So, did Slayton get what he wanted?
“I would say so,” Slayton told assembled media at The Greenbrier Sports Performance Center on Friday. “Yeah, absolutely. I feel like he’s in that echelon,
that ilk. He obviously came from arguably one of the most old-school divisions in football of the Ravens and the Steelers. I definitely think he’s what we needed. There’s definitely been a sense of accountability off the rip, which has been huge for us. I’m definitely glad Coach Harbaugh’s here.”
Slayton did not want to give specific examples of Harbaugh holding anyone accountable. That was a veteran move, smartly not throwing any teammates under the bus. He spoke in general terms.
“Already in this camp, he’s already kind of expressed that at the end of the day, in this life, if somebody’s not doing something up to the echelon that you want them to do, you go to them, you make that clear to them that that’s not what we’re going to do around here, then they have a chance to respond,” Slayton said. “And that’s something that he’s already done in our first few days of camp and has gotten a positive response out of the individuals that he’s done that with. So, I think that’s really big for a football team.”
‘I need to be able to run’
Slayton missed spring practices after having offseason surgery for a double sports hernia. He admitted that last season, when he had the second-lowest production of his seven-year NFL career, he played through the issue.
“I pretty much started with it last season, and just kind of played that way throughout the whole season,” he said. “Just because I wasn’t going to just cut the season short with the surgery or anything. I got through last year, and then I tried to kind of rehab it in the offseason, and it just didn’t really work. So, I just went ahead and got the procedure done.”
Slayton admitted that the hernias had “a good bit” of impact on his season.
“I’m not a big excuse person. So, at the end of the day, I could have played better regardless, but obviously it’s different when maybe you’re used to being able to catch the ball a little easier,” Slayton said. “You’re having to strain a little more and maybe come up an inch short here or there. But at the end of the day, if you’re out there, you’ve got to make it happen.”
Slayton has had a quiet start to training camp, but he has been on the field taking a full complement of reps every day.
“I need to be able to run. I need to be able to move how I’m accustomed to being able to move,” Slayton said. “Honestly, once that’s all done, I believe I’ll play to a level that I need to play at.”
‘The old guy role’
The trade of Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals left the 29-year-old Slayton, a fifth-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, as the longest-tenured Giant.
“Everybody keeps trying to fit me in the old guy role,” Slayton said. “But you know Odell’s [Beckham] older than me, Braxton’s [Berrios] older than me, JuJu’s [Smith-Schuster] the same age as me,” Slayton said. “So, I’m trying to shake that narrative. But, no, other than that, I feel like I’ve always just kind of been a glue guy. Kind of a do-it-all guy. There’s not really too much for a receiver position that I’m not capable of doing. My plan is to fill whatever holes need to be filled and be successful at my role.”
Slayton has made a career out of exceeding expectations and always becoming a key part of the Giants’ offense. It won’t be a surprise if he does it again.
