Earlier this week, I wrote that the New York Giants desperately needed to land the plane and convince John Harbaugh to be their next head coach because the losing, and the creeping irrelevance of an NFL crown jewel franchise, had to stop.
Mission accomplished.
The Giants got their man, with word leaking out in the wee hours of the morning on Thursday that Harbaugh was cancelling other meetings and would become the team’s head coach.
The Giants were not relevant to the NFL landscape on Wednesday. Nobody
talked or wrote about them unless they had to. There was no excitement. No buzz. No real interest.
On Thursday, all of that is different. John Harbaugh makes it that way.
Harbaugh might or might not win a Super Bowl with the Giants. No Super Bowl-winning coach has ever gone to a new team and done that. That’s, for me, not how this should be judged. Harbaugh has brought instant credibility back to a franchise that was badly in need of it.
- Look at the reactions from media covering the Giants and the NFL.
- In that same post, you see reactions from a thrilled fan base.
- Our ongoing poll shows that more than 95% of voters think hiring Harbaugh was the right move.
Now, Harbaugh and the Giants have to capitalize on all of that by putting a quality, competitive team on the field that stays competitive and relevant.
Today, though, is the best day Giants fans have had since Feb. 5, 2012, the second time Eli Manning and the Giants walked off the field victorious over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in a Super Bowl.
‘Kudos’ to John Mara, Joe Schoen and the Giants organization
The Giants clearly understood where the franchise was entering the offseason. In a bad place. They clearly understood the assignment. No more fliers on first-timers. Get the best, most credible, most-decorated coach they could find to restore credibility to an iconic franchise that had lost its way, to establish a winning culture in the locker room and around the organization.
To return the Giants to what they are supposed to be. Forget those lower case letters. They are supposed to be the NEW YORK GIANTS. An NFL standard-bearer that is looked up to, not down at.
The Giants were described as relentless in their pursuit of Harbaugh.
Joe Schoen, the GM who has to know he is fortunate to still have that job, knew this is what his bosses wanted. He knew this was his chance to get the franchise pointed back in the right direction. He was said to be in constant contact with Harbaugh or his representatives from the time Harbaugh was fired by the Baltimore Ravens until he entered the building Wednesday for his in-person sit down.
Throughout the process, Schoen, reviled by many in the fan base and thought by some to be a detriment in their search for a top-notch coach, convinced Harbaugh that they could work together.
John Mara, fighting cancer, fought for the franchise his family has owned and loved for more than 100 years, by making calls and participating in meetings despite his health.
Chris Mara, pictured by fans as a clueless meddler who should keep his nose out of the team’s football operations, stepped up for his big brother by traveling to Baltimore to have lunch with Harbaugh and make a pitch for the organization.
Tom Coughlin, Eli Manning, and even the fired Daboll vouched for the organization.
Co-owner Steve Tisch lent his support and his private airplane, which has been tracked by Internet sleuths the last couple of days as though it belonged to Taylor Swift. Tisch, rarely seen in New Jersey, was also reportedly at 1925 Giants Drive for Wednesday’s sit-down with Harbaugh.
Quarterback Jaxson Dart reportedly stopped by to say hello. Cam Skattebo, too.
I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the Giants broke out a Ouija Board and tried to contact the spirit of Wellington Mara to make a pitch to Harbaugh on Wednesday.
Once Harbaugh became available, the Giants knew what had to be done. As O’Connor said, they were not going to be denied.
They deserve props for that.
Next steps for NY Giants coaching staff
Now, Harbaugh will have to put a coaching staff together. Will Giants coaches like offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo, interim defensive coordinator Charlie Bullen, or even venerable defensive line coach Andre Patterson get to stick around?
Todd Monken, Harbaugh’s offensive coordinator in Baltimore, seems like the heavy favorite to get the job of shepherding Dart’s growth with the Giants. That makes sense because one of the reasons Harbaugh lost his job with the Ravens was his refusal to fire Monken, a veteran coordinator.
On defense? Bullen deserves an audience. Best guess is he lands as a coordinator somewhere in this cycle after doing a good job taking over from Shane Bowen midseason.
On defense, Harbaugh has a lot of choices. There are a number of good coaches working around the league who passed through Baltimore on their way to bigger opportunities. Chris Pflum will have more on the hunt for assistant coaches a bit later.
One name that is fun to talk about, but almost certainly isn’t happening is Wink Martindale. The former Giants defensive coordinator parted ways with Harbaugh before coming to New York. The two are said to be friends, but I don’t see Harbaugh running it back with Martindale.
Biggest event ever?
The New York/New Jersey sports scene has a rich history. Putting aside Super Bowls or championships of any kind in other sports, has there ever been a bigger, more stunning, more potentially franchise-altering move than this one by a New York team?
I can’t think of one.
- The Yankees signing Reggie Jackson?
- The Mets outbidding the Yankees for Juan Sota?
- The Giants trading for Manning?
You tell me if you can think of one.
‘Kudos’ to the media old-timers
It’s a new world in journalism. Social media, blogs, money, the dominance of ESPN, reporters and talking heads who get information because they have agents or work for outlets that pay sports leagues gobs, and gobs, and gobs of money.
I’m not fighting it. I’m part of it, working here at Big Blue View. But, it is still nice to see some old-school journalists out front on big stories. That was the case for long-time New York sports columnist Gary Myers and current columnist for The Athletic Ian O’Connor on the Harbaugh story.
Both guys, with more than four decades in the business, learned how to cultivate sources and work big stories before the days of the Internet. And before there were insiders being intentionally fed the news by teams. Until the Harbaugh story got to the point where it became know that he was in the Giants’ facility on Wednesday, it was Myers and O’Connor using their decades of relationships to be in the lead with the most relevant information on Harbaugh.
Congratulations to both of them for reminding the young kids and the content creators how really good, professional journalism gets done.
