After a successful day of meetings with John Harbaugh at the New York Giants' facility on Wednesday, the former Baltimore Ravens head coach was expected to sign with the G-Men, barring any setbacks.
As of Saturday afternoon, the former Super Bowl Champion has officially signed his new contract and is officially headed to Big Blue to become the franchise's next head coach.
Both sides took some time to finalize contract negotiations before reaching an agreement, which worried Giants fans. The contract is now officially signed, and as we await more details, we already know that the five-year deal is expected to be worth at least $100 million. We also know that the Giants will have a new power dynamic, which the franchise has never had before.
Harbaugh provided some initial comments to the media shortly after signing his new contract with the Giants on Saturday and wasted no time telling us who he will be reporting to. This indicates the organization will adopt a new structure and believes it can succeed with this different look.
Giants HC John Harbaugh says he's reporting to team owner John Mara
Ian O’Connor of The Athletic had the chance to speak with the Giants’ new head coach about a half hour after he signed his new contract. When O’Connor asked him about his position in the chain of command with the Giants, he said, "I report to John Mara."
He went on to say that he has really enjoyed Joe Schoen and looks forward to forming a great partnership with him, and even called him a “hard worker.” Harbaugh added, “I’m ready for us to roll up our sleeves," meaning the two will work together and both report to John Mara.
This structure is probably the best for Joe Schoen, as it allows him to keep his job while putting less pressure on him. We can expect Schoen’s responsibilities to remain the same; however, he’ll be in a more collaborative role with Harbaugh as they work together to construct the Giants’ roster.
The Giants’ new head coach was also asked by O’Connor about sticking points in negotiations at the end of the agreement:
"It was building the football operations structure. The conversations with John and Chris Mara, and Joe about that were great. We're not going to be much bigger operationally, but it takes time to put that together in negotiations. It finally came together, and I like the start of where we are going, but we still have to build it out. We're on the same page with it."
For those Giants fans who were nervous because it took Harbaugh a while to sign his contract, this explains why. It came down to how the franchise would be structured and how everyone in the front office would play their role. It just took some communication to get on the same page.