LIer Greg Senat knows what Giants are getting in John Harbaugh

One former NFL player from Long Island with a Super Bowl ring knows exactly what the Giants are going to get from John Harbaugh.

Greg Senat, a product of Elmont Memorial High School and Wagner College, was a sixth-round pick of the Ravens in 2018. For about a year and a half, Harbaugh was his introduction to the NFL.

“Man, he’s a disciplined guy,” Senat, a former offensive tackle, told Newsday by phone from his home in New Jersey on Thursday night. “A good leader. He knew how to get guys to play to the best of their ability. Just a leader of men, always knowing the right thing to say and getting guys fired up for the games. And he’s a good manager. He knows how to let the coaches coach and he does what he needs to do on the sideline.”

None of that is a surprise to anyone who followed Harbaugh’s success in his 18 years with the Ravens. It’s one of the reasons the Giants made it their organizational priority to land him as their next head coach once he became available last week. The Ravens fired him after being eliminated from postseason contention on the final play of the final game of the NFL regular season.

Senat can provide some insight into what things might be like for the Giants once the deal with Harbaugh is completed.

As a late-round pick, Senat said he didn’t have much one-on-one interaction with Harbaugh.

“I don’t think many rookies, unless you are a starter, get much of that,” he said.

And there were a few of those starters in Senat’s draft class; he arrived in Baltimore along with future Pro Bowlers Orlando Brown Jr. and Mark Andrews as well as two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Senat was injured during his first training camp, so he wasn’t playing, but he was around the team during that 2018 season when they went 10-6, won the AFC North title and lost to the Chargers in the Wild Card round. Senat also was with the Ravens the following offseason and through training camp in 2019.

He said Harbaugh and the Ravens treated him “about as well as a sixth-round pick can be treated,” especially given that he had very little contact with the coach or the organization before his selection.

“I didn’t think the Ravens would draft me,” he said. “It was one of those situations where the phone rang and I was like, ‘Well, I guess I’m a Raven!’ ”

Once there, he had to fall into line with Harbaugh’s expectations and standards.

Senat learned that the hard way. At the end of his first training camp, he posted a photo of himself wearing a protective boot on his injured foot before the team announced the injury.

“He’ll be disciplined for that,” Harbaugh told reporters at the time. “I’ll make sure that we take care of that.”

Senat removed the photo shortly after receiving the public scorn.

Harbaugh also was somewhat understanding about the situation, though.

“Obviously, he doesn’t know any better,” he said. “When the regular season starts, we won’t be doing that.”

The experience didn’t sour Senat on his tenure in Baltimore.

“I definitely had to work hard to earn my stripes,” he said. “But he treated me well. The Baltimore Ravens organization, we all know it’s a top-notch organization, and he was a big part of that. They know what they are doing and he led that ship for almost 20 years. That’s insane.”

After being waived by Baltimore early in the 2019 season, Senat was claimed by Kansas City and became part of its Super Bowl LIV-winning team, although he was back on injured reserve by the time KC beat the 49ers in the big game.

He then spent time with the Browns, Cowboys and Colts. His last NFL stop was close to home as he was claimed by the Jets late in the 2021-22 season. He was on their roster for the 2022 season, his final one in the league. At age 31, he is retired from the NFL.

Harbaugh, 63, is the oldest head coach the Giants have ever hired, and his imminent arrival comes at a time when many other successful teams are skewing more toward younger leaders.

Senat paused when asked if he thinks Harbaugh can relate with the current Giants.

“You do see a bunch of older coaches taking a step back because this is a new generation of players,” he said. “You can’t really coach the same way they used to coach, even back when I played, never mind long before me. But I think he can do it.

“And I think if he goes to the Giants, they have a bunch of young guys who are the kings in that locker room, so I can see that locker room giving him a second wind. I can see that locker room having the reverse effect on him where they make him feel like the younger guy and give him more energy and they revitalize him a little bit.

“He’ll bring that structure, that old-school type of mentality, and hopefully those guys with their youth and their energy, it could be a really good situation for the Giants. With what they have now, I can see him doing a really good job.”