The first New York Giants plot twist of John Harbaugh’s era has arrived

John Harbaugh will need to change his plans for a major hire.

Mauricio Rodriguez — Dallas Cowboys News Writer
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New Giants Head Coach John Harbaugh speaks during a press conference welcoming Harbaugh at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2025.
Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The latest NFL news introduced quite a plot twist for the New York Giants, and it’s one that will force head coach John Harbaugh to change course with the building of his first coaching staff in the Meadowlands.

It turns out a familiar face of his many expected to join him with the Giants is headed elsewhere.

Giants’ OC candidate Todd Monken to be new Browns head coach

Ever since reports emerged on the Giants being set to hire Harbaugh, insiders indicated the early favorite to be his offensive coordinator was Todd Monken, who led the Baltimore Ravens from 2023 to 2025.

Monken, however, is headed to the Cleveland Browns as head coach. He was OC for the Browns in 2019 before becoming one of college football’s most prolific play callers at Georgia (2020-2022).

Even though the Browns were interested in Monken since the beginning of their head coaching search, he was considered an underdog in the search, making it likely he would wind up with Harbaugh in New York. Now, he’s off the table for the Giants, who must nail their OC hire ahead of Jaxson Dart’s second year in the league.

Giants must look elsewhere

The Giants hadn’t limited their search to just Monken, but I would expect more names to be added to the list in the coming days, including LSU’s Charlie Weis Jr., who coached Dart at Ole Miss. Below are the other candidates the Giants have interviewed or requested to interview:

  • Davis Webb, Broncos pass game coordinator/QB coach
  • Willie Taggart, Giants running backs coach

This is one of the most important hires Harbaugh will make in his first year with the Giants, and he’s likely to have a deep budget for it. I wouldn’t be surprised if he takes his time to get it right.

As for the defensive side of things, the Giants hired Dennard Wilson as defensive coordinator earlier in the week. Additionally, Chris Horton will be Harbaugh’s special teams coordinator.

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