Sources: Giants finalizing deal with John Harbaugh to be next head coach
Then-Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh speaks during a news conference after a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Jan. 4, 2026. Credit: AP/Justin Berl
The Giants appear to have their next coach, and his name is John Harbaugh.
The two sides are working to finalize a deal that will make Harbaugh the 24th head coach in franchise history, sources confirmed. The former Ravens coach, 63, interviewed with the Giants on Wednesday, a group that included rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart.
He became the Giants’ primary target once he was fired last week after 18 seasons leading the Ravens. Harbaugh made the Giants his first in-person interview and reportedly had been scheduled to meet with members of the Titans’ front office on Thursday at his home.
Instead, he’s now in place to become the Giants’ most accomplished coaching hire since 1993, when they hired Dan Reeves. It’s a seismic shift for a franchise that has mostly struggled in the 10 years since the Giants and Tom Coughlin parted ways after the 2015 season.
Harbaugh’s 180 career wins rank fourth among active coaches and he has a career winning percentage of .614. He also won a Super Bowl in February 2013, beating his brother Jim's 49ers, 34-31.
He’s also no stranger to the NFC East. Harbaugh’s first NFL job was as the Eagles’ special teams coordinator from 1998-2006. In 2007, he was the Eagles’ defensive backs coach before he was hired by the Ravens in 2008.
General manager Joe Schoen said this month that the Giants would cast a wide net to for their next coach. Schoen also made clear that the goal was finding a coach who could restore the team’s tradition.
“We're going to get the right person to lead the franchise and, again, get us back to what the standard is,” Schoen said. “That's competing for championships on a yearly basis.”
Harbaugh kept the Ravens successful throughout his tenure. They made the playoffs 12 times and reached the AFC Championship Game four times, most recently in 2024. Harbaugh had only one season in which he won fewer than eight games: 2015, when the Ravens went 5-11.
By contrast, the Giants have made the playoffs only twice since the 2011 season ended with a Super Bowl championship. The Giants lost at least 10 games eight times in the last nine seasons and are 7-27 in the last two seasons, the most losses the Giants ever had in a two-year span.
Since Coughlin’s final game at the helm, the Giants have hired and fired four coaches. Harbaugh becomes the fifth hire since then but has a promising core in place waiting for him.
First- and second-year players such as Dart, running backs Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Cam Skattebo, receiver Malik Nabers, linebacker Abdul Carter and tight end Theo Johnson showed potential. Add veterans such as left tackle Andrew Thomas, linebacker Brian Burns and defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, and there’s talent in place to help the Giants improve.
They also own the No. 5 pick in this year’s draft, which can bring in a talented new player or be used to trade down for draft assets.
“I just want to be in a situation where the coach is going to help put everybody around myself and the players around me in the best situation based on the talent that we have and the skill sets we have,” Dart said this month.
Dart should find a ready advocate in Harbaugh, who is no stranger to working with young, mobile quarterbacks. The Ravens drafted Lamar Jackson in 2018 and he became a three-time All-Pro selection and two-time Most Valuable Player.
Harbaugh also engineered a quick turnaround with the Ravens. After going 5-11 in 2007, the Ravens went 11-5 in Harbaugh’s first season and reached the AFC Championship Game. They won at least one playoff game in Harbaugh’s first five seasons.
The Giants are starting from a lower place after going 4-13 in 2025. They lost five games despite leading by double digits and had a nine-game losing streak. That’s on the heels of a franchise record 10-game losing streak in 2024.
Newsday's Tom Rock contributed to this story.
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
More Giants
