The coaching carousel is officially here, and with several head coaching vacancies this offseason and interviews already underway with many teams, we should expect to see some movement around the league. The New York Giants have already interviewed several candidates for their open head coaching position, which many consider one of the most attractive jobs.
The candidates who stand out the most that could be considered a good fit for Big Blue are former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, former NFL head coach Mike McCarthy, and former Ravens head coach John Harbaugh. They each bring something different to the table, but all bring some level of winning experience, which is something the G-Men have lacked for quite some time.
Many Giants fans would like to see the team hire Harbaugh as its next leader. John is expected to be a top candidate for many teams, including the Dolphins, Falcons, and, of course, the G-Men, but one Giants insider hit fans with a hard reality about hiring Harbaugh.
Pat Leonard hit Giants fans with brutal reality about hiring John Harbaugh
Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News reported that if hired, he expects Harbaugh to either walk Joe Schoen out of the building to bring in his own general manager, or it would be a similar dynamic to that of Eliot Wolf and Mike Vrabel of the Patriots, where everyone knows Wolf works for Vrabel and not the other way around:
Pat Leonard on the John Harbaugh and Joe Schoen situation: pic.twitter.com/LqLISOyxem
— NYC Sports Addict (@NYCSportsAddict) January 8, 2026
New York is committed to Schoen as its general manager. He has already led the coaching search thus far, conducting several interviews, so hiring a candidate who could essentially replace him could create a toxic environment, which is the last thing John Mara and ownership want to happen after everything they've endured over the last few years.
We saw something similar last offseason with the Jaguars, when they tried hiring Liam Coen. The Jaguars had already committed to Trent Baalke as their GM, and Coen denied an interview with Jacksonville and announced he would return to the Buccaneers as their offensive coordinator. That same day, Baalke was fired, and the Jags made it happen with Coen.
For the Jaguars, you could say it paid off as they are sitting pretty in the playoffs as the No. 3 seed in the AFC. Although the Giants may not have a similar turnaround with Harbaugh, it’s a risk you have to take to land a top-tier head coach who could turn this ship around.
Leonard isn’t suggesting that the Giants shouldn't hire Harbs; he’s just saying he and Schoen may not be a match, and we could see something similar to the Patriots or Jaguars play out if he is hired.