Did Jaxson Dart reveal finalists for Giants' coaching job during Fiesta Bowl telecast?

The Giants haven’t yet had an interview with John Harbaugh  for their vacancy at head coach, but whether you read lips or tea leaves, their chances of landing him seem to have improved in recent days.

On Thursday night, with his alma mater Ole Miss playing in the Fiesta Bowl, television cameras caught Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart in a conversation with an assistant coach on the sideline. There was no audio, but it appeared to amateur internet sleuths as if the coach asked Dart whom the Giants are going to hire. “I don’t know,” Dart seems to mouth. “Either Harbaugh or [Kevin] Stefanski . . . but I don’t know.”

Jaxson Dart is BELOVED by the Ole Miss faithful#PMSCFP pic.twitter.com/xGr6JKOZMY

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 9, 2026

Neither of those guesses — and the interpretation of Dart’s lips as well as his body language suggest that it is just a guess — is outlandish. The Giants already have interviewed Stefanski, a two-time NFL Coach of the Year with the Cleveland Browns, and have been linked to Harbaugh repeatedly since the former Super Bowl winner was fired by the Ravens on Tuesday.

Giants general manager Joe Schoen made it clear that while Dart’s presence on the team will play a large role in the search for a new head coach, both as an enticing asset to any candidate and as one the Giants want to make sure they protect wisely, Dart himself will have limited interactions in the process.

“I love him, but he’s 22 years old and he’s got one year in the league,” Schoen said. “Could he potentially meet a candidate? Sure, but we’ll make the decision ultimately.”

A more concrete development to increase the Harbaugh Hype occurred on Friday morning when reports emerged that the    Dolphins will hire Jon-Eric Sullivan  from the Packers as their next GM.

Giants fans enamored of Harbaugh feared that Miami would hire former Ravens executive Chad Alexander for that role and give the Dolphins an inside advantage in luring Harbaugh.

The Dolphins are still considered to be the biggest obstacle to the Giants landing Harbaugh because of his connections to South Florida, the lack of state income tax there and the deep pockets of owner Stephen Ross, but now they won’t be run by someone who already helped Harbaugh build a championship team in Baltimore.

In the meantime, the Giants continue to talk with other candidates.

Interim head coach Mike Kafka was the first to interview early this week and Stefanski met formally with the Giants on Wednesday. On Thursday, they met with Raheem Morris for an in-person interview and with Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph remotely. Former Giants linebacker and Super Bowl champion    Antonio Pierce  was at the facility on Friday for his interview.

The Giants also are expected to meet with Mike McCarthy early next week. At some point they will interview Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and Broncos special teams assistant Darren Rizzi; they have requested permission to speak with both.

The field may broaden even further after this weekend when assistant coaches for teams in the Wild Card round of the playoffs are eligible to conduct interviews. There also is the possibility that one or more teams that lose this weekend will make a coaching change, which could add both candidates and desirable job openings.

Harbaugh has spent this week sifting through the interest from the many teams who would like to hire him while also collecting himself after being fired from a job he held for 18 years. He is expected to begin interviewing with teams next week, and the Giants are expected to be among them.

The Giants have satisfied the requirements of the Rooney Rule with in-person interviews with Morris and Pierce, so they are able to hire someone at any point.