John Harbaugh finally addresses the question Giants fans have wanted answered since the day he was hired
The New York Giants made arguably the best hire of the offseason.
The New York Giants made arguably the best move of the NFL offseason by hiring John Harbaugh to replace Brian Daboll as the franchise’s head coach.
Harbaugh, who spent 18 seasons as the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, is a Super Bowl champion and one of the most well-respected figures in the NFL. I’m not usually a fan of the media labeling hires as a “home run” (no one ever knows how a hire will actually play out), but in this case, the overused cliché absolutely applies.
Landing Harbaugh, however, almost didn’t happen for the Giants. The coveted head coach had a backup plan in the Tennessee Titans in case the Giants didn’t meet his biggest request — reporting to ownership instead of general manager Joe Schoen.
It was a request that made sense — Harbaugh had a similar setup in Baltimore. And Giants co-owner and president John Mara eventually agreed to give Harbaugh what he wanted — even though it departed from the franchise norm. But the decision left some fans wondering whether Harbaugh reporting directly to ownership would create a rift between the front office and the Giants’ new head coach.
John Harbaugh addresses working relationship with Joe Schoen
Harbaugh recently spoke to The Athletic about his first few weeks on the job, and he specifically addressed his relationship with Schoen.
The longtime NFL head coach told The Athletic that he had high expectations for Schoen. And so far, Schoen has met those expectations.
“I had high expectations for Joe, and I would say he’s lived up to those high expectations,” said Harbaugh. “We’ve worked really well together. We talk multiple, multiple times every day … and a lot of things come up. ‘We hired an analyst, so what are we paying him? What did the Raiders or Eagles say when we asked for permission to speak to someone?’ Joe’s been a smart judge of tactics and situations.”
It’s just the beginning of a relationship that will likely have some ups-and-downs — that’s just life, it’s never perfect — but it’s undoubtedly a good start to an important partnership.
Regardless of who Harbaugh reports to, it’s imperative that he maintains a strong relationship with the general manager and the front office. Everyone needs to be on the same page for the franchise to have any chance at success. There’s simply too much involved in roster management for Harbaugh to handle every tiny detail or decision on his own. Trust between him and the general manager is essential.
Free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft will be the true test of the relationship between Harbaugh and Schoen. But at least they’re building a solid foundation before reaching that critical point in the offseason.
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