John Harbaugh and the New York Giants are swapping one often-injured, underperforming member of the early 2020s Pittsburgh Steelers offense for another, as they decided to sign veteran running back Najee Harris and made room for the former first-round pick by releasing wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.
The Harris signing may seem fairly milquetoast originally, as Harbaugh is signing a veteran for depth behind Cam Skattebo. However, it shows that Harbaugh is also leaning into the same overreliance on familiarity that has become a hallmark of his brother Jim's stint with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Harbaugh signed Harris, who played under his brother last year, and brought over many of his former Baltimore Ravens both on the field and off of it. Harbaugh looks very insular and rigid, making additions if he has a connection to one of the parties in question. That's not transformational roster building in 2026.
Najee Harris signing shows John Harbaugh is very rigid in roster building
On one hand, this is how the NFL (and every business) works. You hire your friends, and you hire based on recommendations from people you trust. However, the NFL's hiring procedures should be based more on merit than a regular nine-to-five, and Harbaugh may be leaning a bit too hard on his proverbial LinkedIn page.
Chargers fans will regale you with the running joke of how many executives and players either worked with John in Baltimore or played under Jim at Michigan. John has adhered to that strategy now that he is in New York.
Isaiah Likely, Pat Ricard, Daniel Faalele, and Ar'Darius Washington all played under Harbaugh in Baltimore. His coaching staff has former Ravens coaches in Dennard Wilson and Greg Roman as the defensive coordinator and an offensive assistant, respectively.
Defensive line coach Dennis Johnson, assistant head coach Chris Horton, running backs coach Willie Taggart, and defensive pass game coordinator Donald D'Alesio all coached under Harbaugh in Baltimore. If those same coaches and players couldn't get to a Super Bowl with prime Lamar Jackson, why will they do so in the near future with Jaxson Dart?
Najee Harris was not the best option for the New York Giants
Lost in all of this is the fact that it has been years since Harris has been even an average running back. After his yards per carry shrank and his explosiveness went away during his final season with the Steelers, Harris served as a backup to Omarion Hampton for three games before tearing his Achilles. Even as depth, there are higher-upside options out there.
There's nothing wrong with bringing in coaches and players that you know well, but it can be argued that part of the reason Jim has been unable to break through in Los Angeles was an overreliance on Michigan and Baltimore coaches (like Roman as offensive coordinator) and an inability to adapt.
John might be headed down the same path in New York if he doesn't get someone in to help him expand his roster-building and coaching horizons.
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