The New York Giants‘ head-coaching search took an intriguing turn when John Harbaugh, recently fired by Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, emerged as a leading candidate.
NFL insider Dianna Russini reports that Harbaugh entered the process with notable reservations about working alongside general manager Joe Schoen, as did many of the team’s other head coaching candidates.
“There were candidates the Giants were interested in who had concerns about Joe Schoen. This was not a ‘nobody cared about Joe Schoen’ storyline — that is not true,” Russini said on Scoopy City. “I know that John Harbaugh entered this interview process with those concerns. He did a lot of homework, making calls to Brian Daboll and to people with connections to Joe Schoen who have known him for years, just to understand what he’s about and whether he felt he could work with him.
“From my understanding, he signed off on it. He thinks it can work, and he enjoyed those conversations. Joe was calling him every single day since [Steve] Bisciotti fired Harbaugh — they talked on the phone every day.”
Russini emphasized that Schoen’s willingness to publicly own mistakes from the past few seasons strengthened his position with candidates and ultimately helped the Giants in a competitive search.
Ian O’Connor of The Athletic provided further insight into the dynamics.
The coach did have concerns about roster construction and, more importantly, roster control. Harbaugh did his legwork, asking around the league about Schoen. The Harbaugh camp asked Giants executives what would happen if Schoen wanted to draft this player with the fifth overall pick, and Harbaugh wanted to draft that player with the fifth overall pick. Who breaks the tie?
John Mara, the co-owner fighting cancer, said he only steps in on disciplinary issues, but assured Harbaugh that he could trust the collaborative culture inside the building. Mara’s standing around the league as a man of his word helped Harbaugh and his agent get past whatever lingering issues they had about personnel power. And Schoen’s willingness to move up in the draft and select Daboll’s preferred prospect, Dart, sent an encouraging message to Harbaugh about the potential for their future partnership to mirror the partnerships he had in Baltimore with Ozzie Newsome and Eric DeCosta.
Harbaugh’s thorough vetting process, combined with daily communication from Schoen and assurances from ownership, appears to have resolved his initial doubts.
When the hire is finalized, the pairing could bring stability and championship pedigree to a Giants franchise seeking a reset, with Harbaugh’s track record of success potentially complementing Schoen’s evolving front-office approach.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: John Harbaugh had initial reservations about Giants GM Joe Schoen
