EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — John Harbaugh has done plenty of winning in the NFL, including 12 playoff appearances and a Super Bowl title.
The New York Giants for much of the past decade have done very little of it.
That is not stopping Harbaugh from dreaming big. Taking over as Giants coach, he has plenty of power in shaping their future and a visible eagerness to turn them back into a contender sooner than later.
“I wanted this job,” Harbaugh said Tuesday at his introductory news conference. “I wanted this job and to be on the biggest stage in the biggest sport. I know the challenges, I understand the expectations, I know that the fans are hungry for a winner. We’re here with one mission, to become — to earn the right — to be called the world champions in New York. And that’s what we plan to do.”
Harbaugh after 18 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens faces a challenge in bringing success to a storied franchise that has gone 45-105-1 and not made it past the divisional round since 2016.
As part of his arrangement to accept the gig, the 63-year-old reports directly to ownership rather than general manager Joe Schoen, so Harbaugh will get to mold the organization in his image around the core led by young quarterback Jaxson Dart.
“He’s going to be the most important cog in the wheel,” said Chris Mara, the longtime executive who led the coaching search along with brother John and co-owner Steve Tisch. “But in terms of final say, this is going to be a collaborative effort between ownership, general manager and coach.”
There are plenty of fresh success stories around the NFL of teams pairing a new coach with an established QB and winning right away. New England, Chicago and Jacksonville all made the playoffs this season following that recipe, and the Patriots are in the AFC championship game.
“That’s what we’re going to be chasing,” Harbaugh said. “It’s going to be about how we play. It’s going to be about us every single day, just becoming as good as we can be.”
The Giants were 4-13, costing former coach Brian Daboll and other assistants their jobs but also giving them a long runway to map out the options available. The moment Harbaugh became available in early January, he immediately became their top candidate.
“I didn’t think he’d be available,” Chris Mara said, adding that two-time Super Bowl-winning coach Tom Coughlin put him in touch with Harbaugh and urged a meeting. “But for us, it was a home run.”
Mara, Harbaugh and Schoen all downplayed the chain of command and tried to talk up just how strong the rapport already is between the new coach and the GM back for a fifth season. Harbaugh anticipates the working relationship being “phenomenally great,” though the coming weeks and months building out a staff, signing free agents and making important decisions in the draft will tell that tale.
“We need to work together, and we’re going to come to the final conclusion and it’s always going to be able what’s best for the New York Giants,” Schoen said. “I have no problem with that, and I’m looking forward to working with him.”
Harbaugh figures his role will be similar to how he and Ozzie Newsome and Eric DeCosta operated with the Ravens: evaluating players, giving input and contributing to the vision of the organization. Brother Jim, who just finished his second season coaching the Los Angeles Chargers after winning the national championship at Michigan, hyped up what it will be like in a new place.
“He said, ‘You’re going to be really excited to walk into that room for the first time with a different team’ — a team that you haven’t been around — and you start fresh from the beginning and kind of build it up the way you want to,” John Harbaugh said. “I just can’t wait.”
Patriarch Jack Harbaugh, in attendance for John’s big day, smiled the entire time because he saw how much his son was enjoying a fresh start.
“I don’t think I’ve seen him more excited and happier than he is right now,” Jack said. “It feels right. It does feel right.”
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