New York Giants mailbag: Coaching staff, NFL draft, John Harbaugh’s impact

Doug Mollin asks: Not the most exciting SB but fun to see the Patriots take a beating.

And fun to see a team like Seattle win it all. Not a pre-season favorite. Veteran QB signed as a free agent. Ferocious defense. Do you think this will set the NFL down a path away from focusing so much on just finding that QB messiah? And more on getting “good” QB play and building a team?

Or is this a one-off that will be hard to duplicate?

Ed says: Doug, teams will always chase the best quarterback they can get.

You don’t need a top five quarterback, though it helps. You do need a quarterback playing at a high level to win. Sam Darnold did that for the Seahawks.

Do I think what Seattle did was a “one-off’”? No, I don’t. Great defense, led by a ferocious pass rush often using just four rushers. A running game that allows the offense to control play and keeps the entire playbook open. Impeccable special teams play. Mistake-free quarterback play — and, yes, I know Darnold turned the ball over a lot during the season. He did not in the playoffs. Those things always work. They always will.

Now, is that hard to duplicate? Absolutely.

Wayne Mirsky asks: 1 — It looks like he took a gamble in thinking that Todd Monken would not get a HC job and would bring George Warhop with him to the Giants as DL coach, but he is going to the Browns with Monken. He then did not take his father’s advice to keep Bricillo. He then had to look around for an OL coach and settles on Mike Bloomgren from the Browns. I have no idea if he will be good or not, but getting the Browns OL coach does not make my heart pound.

2 — Why did it take so long to promote Chad Hall to WR coach? He initially only wanted to keep Bullen and Kelly so he obviously reviewed all the present Giant coaches and was only thrilled with two of them. It was rumored that he wanted Robert Prince from the Dolphins but Kevin Stefanski grabbed him first. Was this another Monken gamble?

3 — Donald D’Alesio was hired as the DB coach and then it was reported that Addison Lynch was hired as DB coach. I am confused.

Ed says: Wayne, let me do the best I can to answer all three of your coaching staff questions/concerns.

I don’t think John Harbaugh “took a gamble” with Todd Monken. He wanted Monken to come with him as offensive coordinator, but always knew there was a chance he would get the Browns’ head-coaching job. We have no idea what happened when Harbaugh and Bricillo met, but there was a belief Monken had an offensive line coach, probably Warhop, in mind. That’s just how the business works. They weren’t going to hold Bricillo hostage and not let him look for a new job. As for Bloomgren, few if any Giants fans knew his name before he got hired. As far as I can tell, his offensive line work has always been highly-regarded. Let’s see how the man does and how it all work out. Harbaugh won’t bat 1.000 on his hires, but I do think the man deserves to be trusted to be able to identify and hire good people.
Does it really matter why it took a while to promote Hall? Yes, Harbaugh interviewed Prince. They had never worked together. Maybe they didn’t hit it off when Prince interviewed. Harbaugh went through his process, and chose Hall. You are making it sound like Harbaugh got caught with his pants down and didn’t get the coaches he wanted. There are 10 NFL teams with new coaches rebuilding staffs. Nobody is going to land every coach they hope to.
The official announcement of the coaching staff came out on Friday. Donald D’Alesio will be the passing game coordinator. Addison Lynch will be the defensive backs coach.

Seth Weissman asks: My question this week is about the draft. I know it’s early, but I read your article about Carnell Tate and it got me thinking about what Harbaugh said about building a team to beat the Eagles. He said (I’m paraphrasing) that it requires winning in the trenches. Knowing that, do you think it’s more feasible that the Giants take a top DT like Peter Woods or top OT like Spencer Fano before looking at a WR or another position?

Ed says: Seth, I think almost anything but taking a quarterback is possible at this point. I don’t believe Woods is in play because he isn’t rate highly enough to be considered at No. 5. Wide receiver, offensive line, linebacker, cornerback, maybe even edge if the Giants decide to move on from Kayvon Thibodeaux.

I do believe the Giants will put resources into the lines on both sides. To get a better handle on draft priorities, though, I think we have to see how they attack free agency.

Gregory DiDonato asks: While moving back at #5 may not be as good without a top QB to come up for, do you see the Giants maneuvering around the board to add picks? Do you have any info on if the Ravens often traded around the board with Harbaugh in charge? A good idea may be to trade #37 to the Steelers for #53 and #85 since they have two 3rd rounders. Can you see the Giants being active like this in Harbaugh/Schoen’s first draft?

Ed says: Greg, can we please dispense with the idea that Harbaugh was in charge in Baltimore? Harbaugh did not have personnel authority. Ozzie Newsome and Eric DeCosta, the general managers while Harbaugh was Ravens’ head coach, did. The longer he was there I’m sure the more Harbaugh’s opinion mattered, but he never had decision-making authority.

Here is a history of DeCosta’s trades. The Ravens notably manipulated the draft board to get Lamar Jackson in 2018. Newsome engineered the move for Jackson. I don’t see any pattern of aggression.

That said, sure I can see the Giants being aggressive if an effort to add draft picks if they can be.

Jeffrey Jacobs asks: There’s been a lot of ink spilled regarding what the Giants will do with their free agents. Personally I’d like to see them re-sign both Robinson & Flott. From there allocate the money to signing Linderbaum (trading JMS to bring back more draft capital, even if it’s late on Day 2 or Day 3) then use the draft for a left tackle. Do you seen much separation between Spencer Fano & Francis Mauigoa, or would you consider it a coin flip between those 2? And lastly, would you take either of them at tackle or Caleb Downs at safety? As much as I’d love to see Downs in blue, I’m leaning towards Fano/Mauigoa.

Ed says: Jeffrey, I am a Mauigoa guy when it comes to a comparison with Fano. I see the athleticism with Fano, but when I watch I wonder why he is off balance so often. I like Mauigoa’s power, and the flex to possibly move inside.

If you have been reading during the week, you know by now that I would support selecting Downs. I could also support and understand selecting a right tackle, especially if Jermaine Eluemunor moves on.

Christopher Scanlon asks: I am as excited about Harbaugh as the next guy if for no other reason than that Hope springs eternal. That said, Mike Vrabel couldn’t coach his way out of a paper bag in Tennessee and got fired. Now he’s the man of the hour. Brian Daboll was the coach of the year just a little ways back and now he’s been run out of town. And so the coaching carousel spins on into infinity.

Here’s the question; how much actual variance is there between any of these guys? Every one of them has made it to the highest level of competition. None of them are stupid. Everyone else can see what they’re doing week to week and so there is likely no secret sauce. If Shane Bowen had coached the Legion of Boom would they have sucked? Probably not.

I’m not making the case that there’s no variance, some guys certainly call somewhat better plays than other guys in certain situations, but even that might be overstated. You’re a genius when the fourth down play works and when the same play in the same situation gets blown up, you’re incompetent.

At the end of the day, isn’t it mostly about whoever has the best players? I’m just a little concerned that Giants nation is expecting Harbaugh to move the needle more than is likely based on our roster and cap space.

Ed says: C’mon on, now, Chris. You’re saying that coaches don’t make a difference? You can’t really be serious about that.

First of all, saying Vrabel “couldn’t coach his way out of a paper bag in Tennessee” is just wrong. The man had winning seasons in his first four years with the Titans and went to the playoffs three times before things went south his last two seasons. And, try telling a New England Patriots fan they would have gone to the Super Bowl this season with Jerod Mayo as head coach.

Did the Giants’ defense play better after Bowen got fired? I suppose Charlie Bullen had nothing to do with that. You’re telling me the leadership of Bill Parcells and Tom Coughlin didn’t have anything to do with the four Super Bowl trophies at 1925 Giants Drive? I suppose Ben Johnson had nothing to do with the resurgence of the Chicago Bears in 2025. Would the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady Patriots dynasty have happened without Belichick?

Of course coaching matters. In the NFL it matters a lot. If you think coaching is just about calling plays then you don’t know what coaching is. Play-calling is a small part, and many head coaches delegate that piece. Coaching is about leadership. It’s about building relationships. It’s about holding players accountable. It’s about being able to inspire people and get them be their best. It’s about being able to identify and hire the right assistant coaches, then letting them do their jobs. It’s about being able to objectively and correctly evaluate players, and then making sure what you ask them to do is built around what they “can” do and not what you “want” them to do.

Thomas Crotts asks: Why should we feel confident with Matt Nagy as offensive coordinator? Why didn’t we get Kliff Kingsbury over Matt Nagy? Nagy did not do well with Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields as evidence has shown. Your thoughts?

Ed says: Thomas, the short answer to why the Giants got Nagy instead of Kingsbury is that John Harbaugh interviewed both men and felt Nagy was the better choice. Will that be the right choice? I don’t know. You don’t know. Nobody does. I am going to trust Harbaugh, though. He has been successful in the business of building coaching staffs and winning games for a long time. He knows far more about it than any of us do.

As for the assertion that Nagy did not do well with Mitch Trubisky, I think that is false. The Chicago Bears went 12-4 with Trubisky as a rookie quarterback in 2018. In three years with Trubisky as his starting quarterback, Nagy’s Bears never finished below .500. Trubisky’s record as a starting quarterback under Nagy was 25-13, a .658 winning percentage. I think the Giants would sign up for that with Jaxson Dart.

I think when you look at those numbers you can make a case that Nagy did fantastic work winning a lot of games with a limited quarterback.

Andy Reid has had Nagy on his staff since 2008, except for the period of time he was Bears’ coach. I think Reid’s judgment, like Harbaugh’s, should be trusted. They have earned that.

Also, look at the staff Harbaugh has put around Nagy and Dart. Greg Roman may not be a great offensive coordinator, but his run game acumen is well known. Brian Callahan has worked with a number of big-time quarterbacks, including Peyton Manning, Matthew Stafford, and Joe Burrow. Tim Kelly is a two-time NFL offensive coordinator.

There is a lot to feel good about.

Mike asks: We all saw James Hudson’s atrocious play in the DAL game that got him relegated to ST and ticketed for the exit. But is it fair (or smart) to banish him based on his worst performance? We must liked him when we signed him for two years. Don’t you always preach that veteran OL depth is good to have?

Ed says: Mike, the problem is that the Giants saw that kind of lack of discipline from Hudson going all the way back to OTAs when Hudson’s inability to control his emotions caused a fight with Brian Burns. That stuff shouldn’t happen in non-contact spring practices.

Yes, veteran offensive line depth is valuable. I thought the Giants did a good thing by signing a real swing tackle rather than relying on Josh Ezeudu. It just turns out they signed the wrong guy. I can’t see John Harbaugh wanting a player on his roster who has shown the kind of lack of discipline Hudson has displayed.

Greg Hart asks: What happens when the season ends? Do players have an “exit interview and does that include workout and wellness advice? Now we have a coaching change across the organization, are the new coaches allowed to reach out the players about the off season conditioning?

Ed says: Greg, yes, there are exit interviews. Joe Schoen and Mike Kafka conducted those. Theoretically, coaches (new or old) cannot talk football with players until the offseason program begins. They certainly cannot supervise workouts, watch film, or discuss the playbook. Many players work out at team facilities during the offseason, so there will always be some form of contact.

Coaches will always find a way to talk to players. Jaxson Dart has admitted that he talks to John Harbaugh all the time. It’s naive to believe how Dart works out in the offseason has not come up in those chats.