Harbaugh made 12 playoff berths and a Super Bowl XLVII title during his 18-year tenure as Ravens head coach that ended when Baltimore fired Harbaugh on Jan. 6 after failing to reach the playoffs.
Despite his departure from Baltimore, Harbaugh brings a wealth of experience and a championship pedigree to New York.
He will become the 21st full-time head coach in New York Giants history and the first previous hire to win a Super Bowl as a head coach. Only Hall of Fame coach Curly Lambeau, who coached 29 seasons with the Packers before leaving for the Cardinals, had more time with one club before joining another, according to NFL Research.
Harbaugh’s 180 regular-season wins as a head coach is 14th all-time. Only Chiefs HC Andy Reid (279) and Broncos HC Sean Payton (184) have more wins among active coaches.
Harbaugh’s arrival in New York mirrors Reid’s arrival in Kansas City in 2013, which followed a successful 13 seasons with the Eagles. Reid would go on to win three Super Bowls and create the league’s newest dynasty with Patrick Mahomes in his second act.
Harbaugh, who was part of Reid’s staff in Philadelphia before joining the Ravens in 2008, aims to replicate that type of success with the Giants.
“Andy is a man of few words and his four words to me were: ‘Change can be good.’ That’s what he said,” Harbaugh said. “Change can be good. He was excited. He’s fired up for us. He’s a good friend. …
“How about we do this. We sign that contract now, what he did in Kansas City. Let’s do it.”
The 63-year-old coach also brings stability. Only two quarterbacks have been featured during Harbaugh’s nearly two-decade tenure in Baltimore: Super Bowl XLVII MVP Joe Flacco and two-time regular-season MVP Lamar Jackson.
Giants QB Jaxson Dart showed great promise in his rookie campaign, scoring 24 touchdowns (15 passing, nine rushing) while posting a 91.7 passer rating. Dart’s induction was the silver lining in a dark season that saw Brian Daboll fired midseason after a 2-8 start, and the first-round pick made the Giants job one of the more attractive HC positions in the NFL.
Harbaugh said he is “excited” to start working with the 22-year-old QB.
“It definitely starts with the quarterback,” he said. “You build your team around your quarterback. You build your team around your players and what they do well. I like the way he plays. I like his skill, ability, everything he’s accomplished. But more than that, I like who he is and what he’s about. To me, he’s about football. This young guy loves football. He wants to talk football all the time. So it’s also fun to do what we have. conversations. I can’t wait to start with him.”
The Giants also have plenty of talent around Dart, including wide receiver Malik Nabers and a strong left tackle in Andrew Thomas. New York’s defense is also well-stocked with Brian Burns, Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeaux up front and a talented secondary on the back end.
Harbaugh recognized the kind of expectations he will face and expects a quick turnaround.
“We’ve got a chance to win, you know, and I like these players, man,” Harbaugh said. I had a chance to watch a tape. I like the way they play. I liked their style. I like how physical and tough they are and I know they want to succeed and they want to go to work, so we can definitely do that and that’s our plan to do that. The plan is to win every game. I mean, one game at a time. You go to every game and you play to win that game. That is our expectation. We will expect to do so. But we have to earn the right to expect it. By how we go to work and prepare and what kind of team we make.”
There is still work to be done to complete Harbaugh’s mission in terms of completing his coaching staff. It’s a process that Harbaugh said would begin Wednesday, indicating he could include some of his coaches from Baltimore.
Harbaugh said that while he “learned a lot” following his run with the Ravens, his vision and principles for a football team are “written in stone.” His leadership in Baltimore produced consistent results, which is why New York decided to hire Harbaugh on a contract expected to make him one of the highest-paid coaches in the NFL.
“It’s a group of guys that see the game the same way,” he said of what he envisions the Giants to be. “It’s a group of kids who want to play the game together the same way. It’s a relentless brotherhood, having each other’s backs, not willing to give up because the guy next year isn’t willing to give up. You know, all these things that these kids believe in will dictate what the culture looks like together every single day by what we do together. OK? And that’s it.”