John Harbaugh's first season as the New York Giants head coach got off to a start neither he nor the Giants envisioned.
Less than two games into the season, the G-Men lost second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart to a season-ending knee injury during New York's first series of the night during their Week 2 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.
Harbaugh has since turned to two different starting quarterbacks, looking to man the ship and help salvage what was supposed to be a promising season. Any Giants fan with past experience would have thrown the red flag on this season. But under Harbaugh's leadership, think again.
Giants' John Harbaugh is making a clear Coach of the Year case
Despite going to their third quarterback, with the Giants naming newcomer J.J. McCarthy as their new starter, hope shouldn't be lost because of one man's leadership: John Harbaugh.
While obviously no one expected the Giants to lose Dart for an entire season, Harbaugh has more than earned Giants fans' trust in his leadership. After all, that's what he was brought in to do.
During his 18 seasons as the Baltimore Ravens head coach, he had just three losing seasons, two of which saw the Ravens go 8-9. Harbaugh had plenty of quarterback drama and injury problems during that stretch, turning to the likes of Ryan Mallett, Matt Schaub, and most recently Tyler Huntley to help keep Baltimore's playoff hopes alive.
If that sounds familiar, it should, as the Giants this season have had to start Jameis Winston and now the aforementioned McCarthy. While there is still plenty of season to go, Big Blue finds itself in first place in the NFC East at 3-2-1, granted, in a horrible division.
But that should be yet another reason why Harbaugh could be a sneaky candidate to take home Coach of the Year honors. Despite being without their starter, the Giants have been in nearly every game they have played this season.
Over the last two weeks, the Giants nearly came back from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit against the Washington Commanders in a game they probably should have won if Cam Skattebo didn't fumble. And just this past week, after being left for dead in the fourth quarter down 34-10 to the New Orleans Saints, McCarthy nearly led an impossible fourth-quarter comeback.
While the Giants didn't win both games, how about the ones they managed to hang on to? From taking down the Dallas Cowboys in their season opener to the defensive stand in Week 3 against the Tennessee Titans, followed by another defensive stand the following week against the Arizona Cardinals. Those are games that even some players admitted they would not have won in 2025, given the number of fourth-quarter leads they blew a season ago.
It clearly doesn't matter who the quarterback is or the game situation; John Harbaugh keeps this Giants team focused each week and treats every week as if it were 1-0. If this Giants team reaches the postseason minus Jaxson Dart, there's no question that Harbaugh should win AP Coach of the Year.
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