Jan. 13, 2026, 3:40 p.m. ET
The John Harbaugh Derby is getting intense and three teams, with the New York Giants leading the way over the Atlanta Falcons and Tennessee Titans, are considered favorites.
Harbaugh has already had informal conversations with the Giants, but has yet to have his formal interview. The Giants have already interviewed two other former NFL head coaches — Kevin Stefanski and Mike McCarthy — who are said to be serious candidates, but Harbaugh is the apple of Big Blue’s eye, their “dream hire.”
From The Athletic:
Coaches with Harbaugh’s resume don’t reach the open market, especially at his age. Harbaugh is the dream hire for Giants owners who have been seeking a culture-setting winner since Coughlin’s unceremonious exit after the 2015 season.
Harbaugh’s 180 career wins rank 14th in NFL history. He has 11 seasons with double-digit wins. He has succeeded with different coaching staffs, different style quarterbacks and different roster strengths. Harbaugh would instantly command respect when he steps into the Giants’ building, and that’s desperately needed for a locker room with talent that has lacked leadership.
That is why the Giants have put a full-court press on and had Chris Mara meet with Harbaugh at his home in the Baltimore area.
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“The Giants are clearly executing a multifaceted plan to convince Harbaugh to be the next NYG coach,” writes Art Stapleton of the Bergen Record. “There are more interactions to come, and the biggest question now will be whether the Giants sell Harbaugh enough to push forward on a visit to the team’s training facility in East Rutherford, and when.”
We shall know soon enough. There are nine head coaching vacancies open as of Tuesday afternoon, but the dominoes won’t likely start to fall until Harbaugh comes off the market.
