The New York Giants have begun searching for their next head coach after firing Brian Daboll midseason. Early candidates ranged from Mike McCarthy to Lou Anarumo, Vance Joseph, and Kevin Stefanski, but Tuesday evening's bombshell news might've blown up the entire script.
The Baltimore Ravens fired long-time head coach John Harbaugh, giving general manager Joe Schoen and the Giants one of the best HC candidates they could have asked for.
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It was immediately assumed that they'd have an interest in the 63-year-old, and two pieces of news hit the timeline on Wednesday that not only showed their interest in bringing in the veteran coach but also suggested one of the biggest potential hurdles in hiring Harbs won’t be a problem.
All of this points to one thing: the Giants are signing Harbaugh as their next head coach, and no one can convince me otherwise.
Giants might’ve just cleared the runway for John Harbaugh as next HC
For this to end in a Harbaugh hire, two things need to happen. One: they need to go all-in on him as a candidate -- they can't afford to let this opportunity slip through their hands. Two: he needs to want to come to East Rutherford.
Well, SNY's Connor Hughes confirmed the first part. He posted that the "Giants are 'all-in' on John Harbaugh right now. He’s the No. 1 coach on their wish list." That's great news for Big Blue Nation. It seems like Schoen might just get this hire right.
The second part was semi-confirmed by The Athletic's Ian O'Connor, who didn't openly state that Harbs was interested in the G-Men. He reported that Schoen remaining the GM won't be an issue for Harbaugh. And that it's not really Harbaugh's way to come in and remove a general manager. He also mentioned that he was neighbors with his old GM, Eric DeCosta.
No one would blame Harbs for steering clear of Schoen. The GM’s made enough head-scratching moves to help send this team to a 7-27 record over the past two seasons. It wouldn’t have been all that surprising if the former Ravens coach pulled a Liam Coen and told the Giants to pick between him and the front office.
If Harbaugh’s really open to teaming up with Schoen, then the Giants just cleared their biggest obstacle. Now it’s just a matter of closing the deal before someone else does. This might be Giants fans' biggest break in a long time.