Between a prolonged recovery from a knee injury and viral draft night comments about Arvell Reese, we wouldn’t have blamed New York Giants coach John Harbaugh if he’d become frustrated with Malik Nabers.
That might sound harsh, but consider that Harbaugh inherited Nabers, the 2024 No. 6 pick and an electrifying young receiver. They lacked a pre-existing relationship that would have allowed the two to settle any differences in-house or for Harbaugh to simply shrug at the 23-year-old and divert his attention elsewhere.
But as he did for nearly two decades in Baltimore, Harbaugh handled everything masterfully, and he’s poised to be rewarded for his faith in Nabers.
John Harbaugh and the New York Giants still clearly believe in Malik Nabers
Nabers turned heads in April when he publicly questioned the Giants’ decision to take Reese at No. 5. At the time, Nabers — who was appearing on a Bleacher Report live stream with Micah Parsons — hadn’t realized the Giants intended to move Reese to linebacker rather than keep him as an edge rusher.
Harbaugh subsequently earned widespread applause, including from ESPN’s Peter Schrager, for saying that he and Nabers had a “great conversation” and worked things out. What could have easily spiraled into a significant distraction instead became a non-story. We collectively forgot about it within days, if not hours.
And even as Nabers worked through setbacks in his recovery, neither Harbaugh nor Joe Schoen ever publicly came off as irritated or skeptical of his work effort. Management took the “we have full confidence” approach, and Nabers eventually shed the red no-contact jersey in August. He’s expected to be a full go against the Cowboys on Sunday night, and there is no indication that he’ll be on a snap count.
When the Giants fired Brian Daboll last November, they recognized that they needed a proven head coach; ideally, someone with a history of holding players accountable without being too strict or too lenient. We often heard North Carolina coach Bill Belichick linked to the Giants because he met the first half of those preferences.
A lesser coach — or a successful coordinator ill-equipped to be a head coach — might have called Nabers out or pushed a narrative that he wasn’t working hard enough to get healthy for Week 1. Harbaugh built Nabers up and reiterated that he believed in the 2024 Pro Bowler.
We’re only days away from seeing what the trio of Harbaugh, Nabers, and Jaxson Dart can achieve together. As a wise man once (sort of) said: get your overpriced, greasy popcorn ready.
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