The New York Giants kick off the 2026 NFL season on Sunday night against the rival Dallas Cowboys. It’s the debut of first-year head coach John Harbaugh, and you know he wants to make a good first impression for his new team.
On Wednesday, the former Baltimore Ravens coach met with the local media to discuss how things are going heading into the Sunday Night Football showdown, and a big question on everyone’s mind was whether wide receiver Malik Nabers might play. Nabers, who hasn’t played since tearing his right ACL last September, was a full participant in Wednesday’s padded practice.
Harbaugh was naturally asked about Nabers during the presser, and he was initially upbeat about answering questions about the possibility of him playing.
“I think he’s ready to go, man,” he told reporters. “We’ll see. It’s still four days until we play. If he’s ready to go, and he feels like he’s ready to go, then he’ll play. If he’s not ready, then he won’t play.”
New York media members don’t love wishy-washy, so they kept pressing Harbaugh for something more specific about the possibility that Nabers might play. And eventually, he snapped.
“I’m not going to tell you who is playing in the game. I’m not going to tell you who is starting, what package we have in, what play we’re running.
I’m not going to tell you any of that.
So we can make it great and have a great press conference, or we can make it uncomfortable.… pic.twitter.com/RFENIx5Qef
— SNY Giants (@SNYGiants) September 9, 2026
“I can just say this right now. We can put a stop to all these questions, because I’m not going to tell you who is playing in the game,” said an animated Harbaugh. “I’m not going to tell you who is starting, I’m not gonna tell you what package we have in, I’m not gonna tell you which play we’re running. I’m not going to tell you any of that. So we can make it great and have a great press conference, or we can make it uncomfortable. But I’m not going to tell you because when you know, the Cowboys know, or every other team we play knows. And that’s not in the competitive interest of our football team. I think you can respect that.”
That kind of thing might fly in Baltimore, but the New York media isn’t likely to be too put off by Harbaugh’s threat of an “uncomfortable” presser. In fact, the reporter who asked the offending question immediately followed up to say the question was still relevant, and the Giants coach seemed to agree, answering it fairly.
Much like in Baltimore, if the Giants win under Harbaugh, he won’t have to worry about too many “uncomfortable” press conferences. But if they falter, he probably hasn’t even seen “uncomfortable” yet.