It seemed that John Harbaugh to the New York Giants was signed, sealed, and delivered just a couple of days after Wild Card weekend. But the veteran head coach’s list of demands might be holding up the finalization of the deal.
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Harbaugh became one of the longest-tenured coaches in professional sports last year, having spent 18 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. He then got fired earlier this month following a disappointing 2025 campaign that saw the team miss the postseason.
Naturally, a Super Bowl-winning coach with that kind of pedigree was going to be highly sought after by the rest of the teams with vacant head coaching positions. Knowing that, Harbaugh sat back and let teams come to him. And come they did. But when they arrived, they were greeted with a list of demands. According to ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi, they were:
- $20 million per year salary
- $10 million staff budget
- Total authority over the roster
- Would like to select his own GM
The first two are no problem, considering how quickly coaching salaries have been rising in recent years. The last two, however, are far tougher to swing. Especially for a team like the Giants, who have historically not allowed the head coach to operate above the general manager. Heck, even Tom Coughlin reported to Jerry Reese back in the day.
And apparently, that hierarchy Harbaugh is looking for is exactly what’s holding up the deal between him and Big Blue that was basically announced back on January 14. In Baltimore, he reported directly to the owner, and he wants a similar situation here. Three days on, and it’s still expected to happen, but with every passing day, that becomes less likely.
And if you look at it objectively, who would want to report to Giants general manager Joe Schoen? He has not proven himself to be very good at his job. Daniel Jones contract, draft misses, Saquon Barkley trade, you name it.
So, could this mean that Harbaugh is holding firm on that last point- select his own GM? There is a strong chance he is. Schoen has certainly not done much to earn the belief that he has from ownership, but they did say they were going to keep him around another year despite his ugly track record.
If Harbaugh was able to strong-arm his way into pushing Schoen out this deep into the offseason, it would certainly set a precedent for his time in New York. Whoever becomes the general manager after that would certainly be “Harbaugh’s man.”
Harbaugh is already expected to bring offensive coordinator Todd Monken along from Baltimore to do the same job for the Giants. This also shows a level of confidence for Harbaugh as he embarks on this new chapter. He wants to rebuild whichever lowly franchise he signs with in his own image.
The only question is, can the Giants stomach handing over that much control of the team to one man? We’ll have to wait and see.
