Eli Manning Makes His Thoughts Clear on the Current State of the Giants With QB Jaxson Dart and HC John Harbaugh

The New York Giants have a relatively sunny outlook heading into 2026. The fanbase seems to love their young QB, Jaxson Dart. And they brought in a well-respected, Super Bowl-winning head coach to oversee operations in John Harbaugh, something the team hasn’t had since Tom Coughlin departed over a decade ago.

Another thing missing since the Coughlin days, when Eli Manning was leading the way for Big Blue, is that positive feeling about the team that they have here in 2026. Dart, Abdul Carter, Brian Burns, Cam Skattebo. There’s excitement there. So why not ask one of the key players from those last successful Giants teams in the early 2010s what they think about this current iteration?

Are Giants supporters already overdoing it, as New York sports fans tend to do? Or is the positivity really warranted? Jon Gruden had the same thought, and he recently asked Manning his thoughts about the “state of the Giants.” Manning started by praising the Harbaugh hire first and foremost and comparing him to none other than Coughlin himself.

“I love John Harbaugh and that hire. I think that’s what we needed, we needed that CEO of an organization that’s gonna hold everybody accountable,” Manning told Gruden.

“Not to say we have to get an exact Tom Coughlin guy. But Tom, everybody was [held] accountable. You weren’t walking on eggshells, but you knew, if you didn’t do your job, he wasn’t gonna sugar-tail it. … So I think that’s what John Harbaugh brings,” added the former QB.

Manning also talked about the team’s choice for their new offensive coordinator: former Kansas City Chiefs OC and Chicago Bears HC Matt Nagy. Eli believes Nagy and Dart could mesh well together.

“I like Nagy and that Kansas City [offense]. You have a quarterback that can throw it down the field, he doesn’t mind buying time in the pocket to hit some deep stuff,” Manning said. “You get [Pro Bowl WR Malik] Nabers running, let him run loose. So I like that you have that creativity to create those big plays.”

Overall, it’s clear that Eli believes that there are indeed good reasons for “excitement” in the Blue side of New York. Especially because of how that defense has quietly come along through the draft and recent trades.

“You got some defense in Brian Burns, who’s getting sacks,” Manning said. “And you got Abdul Carter, some young talent, you got big Sexy Dexy [Dexter Lawrence] in the middle. So there’s some talent there, and some guys. Now it’s, ‘Hey, let’s get the most out of the potential.’ So I’m excited for that.”

What does Eli Manning think of the current state of the New York Giants? pic.twitter.com/YTjOppc5Ql

— Jon Gruden (@BarstoolGruden) February 19, 2026

New York is very excited about their Giants. But elsewhere, and especially down in Vegas, where they set all the betting lines, the belief is not there. New York’s +700 odds to win their division next year are the lowest among the four NFC East teams as of this writing.