If you thought you knew that brotherly love was, Chris and John Mara are gonna force you to rethink that definition. Chris worked tirelessly to ensure the New York Giants made John Harbaugh their next head coach because he knew how badly Harbaugh fit his brother's vision for the Giants.
With John battling cancer, Chris has taken more of an active role with Giants' ownership. He flew to Baltimore for a lunch meeting with Harbaugh and stopped at nothing to make him the team's next head coach, but revealed he wouldn't have been able to do it without a push from a franchise legend.
Chris Mara says former #Giants coach Tom Coughlin had advice for him on John Harbaugh’s availability.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 20, 2026
So what was it?
“Get your ass down there.” https://t.co/b3bPfHkCUO
During the Super Bowl-winning head coach's introductory press conference, Mara revealed that Tom Coughlin gave him some sound words of wisdom for their pursuit of Harbaugh. Coughlin kept it blunt, but urged Mara to get his a** down to Baltimore in order to seal the deal, and he did exactly that.
Tom Coughlin made sure Chris Mara stopped at nothing to make John Harbaugh the next Giants' head coach
Like many others around the Giants, Coughlin was well aware that the 63-year-old was the head coach most like him, and Big Blue has been trying to recapture that success for years now. Harbaugh was the best head coaching candidate available, so Mara really just did what the team deemed necessary.
The Giants needed a proven winner who was going to hold players accountable and reset the culture, and got exactly that. Mara also clarified that the power structure isn't overly important, because he revealed that there will be a lot of collaboration and both Joe Schoen and Harbaugh will have a say in making decisions.
However, as for Coughlin, he was the last head coach to have any semblance of sustained success in New York, so his words hold weight. It's not like he was going to sell anyone against pursuing Harbaugh, but having the endorsement of one of the best coaches in Giants' history always helps.
Even though Coughlin is retired, he was still aware of the opportunity presented to the Giants, and he encouraged them not to miss their shot. That message clearly resonated with Mara, who, like the rest of the front office, was encouraged to put on the full-court press to win the Harbaugh sweepstakes.
Mara has received a lot of flak over the years for his role in the team's front office decisions, but he's deservedly earned a lot of brownie points with the fanbase over the last couple of days throughout this hiring process. And it's because of him that Giants' football will be fun again in 2026.