John Harbaugh landed with the Giants thanks to a franchise icon pushing ownership — and fans should see it as a good omen
Tom Coughlin continues to have a positive impact on the New York Giants, and his latest role led to hiring John Harbaugh
New York Giants fans are extremely grateful for John Harbaugh deciding to become their next head coach. The energy of landing a Super Bowl-winning coach has revived the fan base’s optimism.
Following Harbaugh’s introductory press conference, the vibes are even higher after hearing his vision for the team. And today, it was revealed that an iconic figure in the franchise’s history played a key role in Harbaugh landing with New York.
If Giants fans should be thanking anyone after this saga, it should be former Giants Super Bowl-winning head coach Tom Coughlin
Tom Coughlin made sure the Giants hired John Harbaugh
Senior player personnel executive Chris Mara was a key cog in landing Harbaugh. Numerous insiders reported that Mara was spearheading the hunt to hire him. When speaking with reporters today, he revealed that Coughlin was the one who relentlessly made sure Harbaugh was the next coach and established the early connection.
“I got in contact with [Harbaugh] after a conversation with Tom Coughlin,” Mara told reporters. “He’s the one who put us together … He was absolutely over the top. He yelled at me 15 times before it was done. And once we got it done, he yelled at me again.”
Mara added another funny quote that Coughlin said to him regarding the coaching search and hiring Harbaugh. When asked what Coughlin said to him when he connected the two, Mara revealed he was quite demanding.
“Get your [expletive] down there [to Baltimore],” Mara shared.
Coughlin reveals how he aided the coaching search
Coughlin also recently appeared on the Giants’ official podcast, Giants Huddle. He revealed that he had immediate conversations with Harbaugh about possibly going to New York after he was fired by Baltimore.
“John’s a friend of mine, okay?” said Coughlin, “And I text John when he was let go by the Baltimore Ravens to tell him, to congratulate him on his run, tremendous run with the Baltimore Ravens. And John came back to me, and at the bottom of his little paragraph, he said, and by the way, if you have a minute, I could use some advice.”
Coughlin elaborated that Harbaugh probed into key information about the franchise to learn about what he could expect if he took the job. Their friendship enabled the transparency needed to move the process forward.
“Basically, what happened was just as if any friend or anyone would call me and ask me about the New York Giants, that’s where the conversations all began,” Coughlin stated. “And then it involved further conversations. You mentioned two. There’s more than two. But they were always of a nature of John in his own way, trying to do his investigation, if you will, of the New York Giant franchise.”
It’s extremely fitting and a good omen that the Giants’ last Super Bowl-winning coach was so integral in Harbaugh becoming the next head coach. Hopefully, it ends in a Super Bowl like with Coughlin.