The New York Giants took the first shot, and their best shot, at landing John Harbaugh.
Now they’ll have to wait to find out if it was enough.
They met with the coveted former Baltimore Ravens coach at their facility in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Wednesday for his first in-person interview since his stunning firing from Baltimore last week. It was what the Giants hoped was the final piece in what has been an extensive courtship. And a team source told me they let Harbaugh know they are willing to offer “almost anything he wants” if he takes the job.
There was even some hope in the Giants organization that they’d be able to close the deal before Harbaugh visited with anybody else. However, the 62-year-old left without a deal on Wednesday evening and flew back home to the Baltimore area, where he reportedly will meet with a contingent from the Tennessee Titans at his home on Thursday. A source said he also “plans” to speak with officials from the Atlanta Falcons, too, though it’s unclear if any in-person meeting with them has been set up.
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Harbaugh’s decision to continue speaking to other teams isn’t necessarily a bad sign for the Giants, according to the source. After spending the last 18 years coaching in one place, he apparently just wants to take a few days to consider his next move. The expectation is that Harbaugh will make a decision by early next week, if not sooner, though inevitably the timetable is completely up to him.
The Giants certainly tried to head off any other meetings for Harbaugh while they had him at their office. They flew him to New Jersey on co-owner Steve Tisch’s private plane on Wednesday morning, according to a source, and spent more than five hours meeting with him and touring the facility. During his time there, he met with co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch, general manager Joe Schoen, and other members of the Giants front office. And he even met in person with one of the Giants’ biggest selling points — promising young quarterback Jaxson Dart.
This was the culmination of a pursuit that began, for the Giants, before Harbaugh was even available. They had internal discussions about him soon after they fired former coach Brian Daboll in November, according to a team source. And they seemed convinced that he would eventually be available even before his Ravens lost their season finale to the Steelers and missed the playoffs, which led to the Ravens firing him the next day.
Once Harbaugh was free, he rocketed to the top of their list. But the Giants were one of nine teams that sources told me had contacted Harbaugh — including several that still had a head coach employed at the time. Harbaugh has spoken to officials with several of those teams over the last 10 days, a source said, including a conversation with the Falcons’ new president of football, Matt Ryan, that the team announced as an interview last week.
Harbaugh has seemingly focused his attention on the Falcons, Titans and Giants, though several league sources believe the Miami Dolphins also remain a possibility. Multiple sources said the Titans are the biggest “threat” to land Harbaugh, because of their draft capital, their cap space, and their impressive young quarterback, Cam Ward. Another source cautioned that the Green Bay Packers could be a “strong dark horse” if they’re unable to reach a new contract agreement in the next few days with their coach, Matt LaFleur.
Meanwhile, the Giants, sensing an opportunity to remake their franchise in the wake of a decade of mostly losing, have been “going for broke”, as one team source said, in their effort to convince Harbaugh they’re the best franchise for him. Chris Mara, their senior personnel consultant (and John Mara’s brother), made the trek down to the Baltimore area last week to visit Harbaugh at his home. John Mara, who has been undergoing regular cancer treatments, has spoken with Harbaugh by phone, too.
And Schoen has had several extensive conversations with Harbaugh, according to a source, and has assured the coach that he’s willing to cede some power over personnel decisions if Harbaugh takes the job. It’s unclear if Harbaugh has asked for total control, or if the Giants would be willing to give that if he asks, but the Giants believe that Harbaugh feels comfortable with Schoen as his general manager.
In fact, one source familiar with Harbaugh’s thinking about the Giants told me that so far “it feels like a great match.”
The Giants, though, are leaving nothing to chance. At the team’s request, Harbaugh has reportedly received phone calls from several prominent Giants alumni, including two-time Super Bowl-winning coach Tom Coughlin and his two-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback, Eli Manning. Recently fired Giants coach Brian Daboll even called Harbaugh and, a source told me, raved about his experience in the organization.
Brian Daboll has spoken highly of the Giants in his coversations with John Harbaugh just two months after getting fired by the franchise, a source told FOX Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano. (Todd Rosenberg/NFL)
The Giants have also let Harbaugh know that they are willing to meet his asking price (expected to be around $20 million per year), shell out millions more for what they hope will be a top coaching staff, and make whatever improvements or additions he wants throughout their program.
The source said Harbaugh’s requests so far have been “significant,” but “don’t seem to be too extensive.”
“But he’s worth it,” the source told me. “You don’t get a shot at a coach like this too often. Sometimes you just have to do whatever it takes.”
Ralph Vacchiano is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He spent six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him on Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.
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