Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The NFL’s New York Giants got their man on Saturday as former Ravens coach John Harbaugh told US media he had finalized a five-year deal that had been in the works since Wednesday. “It’s the New York Football Giants,” Harbaugh told The Athletic. “I can’t wait to get started. I know how great our fans are. I’ve seen them close up enough. We are going to build a team that’s going to play a brand of football that you will be proud of.”
Harbaugh, who was fired by Baltimore after 18 seasons with the Ravens that included a Super Bowl win, had reportedly agreed to a five-year deal with the Giants on Thursday. But a fraught period of haggling ensued as the parties reportedly hammered out details including a chain of command among Harbaugh, general manager Joe Schoen and owners John Mara and Steve Tisch. Harbaugh told The Athletic that he will report directly to ownership, as he did with the Ravens, and looks forward to building a “strong partnership” with Schoen. He said the negotiations focused on “building the football operations structure.” “It finally came together and I like the start of where we are going, but we still have to build it out,” he said. “We’re on the same page with it.”
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Harbaugh, 63, who won 180 regular-season games with the Ravens, reaching a dozen post-seasons, was sacked last week after Baltimore failed to reach the playoffs. Harbaugh expressed “disappointment” at his shock firing, but immediately became the target for multiple franchises seeking new head coaches, including the Tennessee Titans, the Atlanta Falcons, and the Giants. The Giants — one of the NFL’s most valuable and storied teams — flew Harbaugh to their New Jersey headquarters on Wednesday, where he held extensive talks with top brass and quarterback Jaxson Dart, according to multiple US media reports.
The Giants rank third among all teams in terms of NFL championship wins, with eight, but have struggled badly in recent years. They have failed to reach a Super Bowl since their last Lombardi Trophy win in 2012 and have only appeared in the post-season twice since that victory. Before his firing by Baltimore last week, Harbaugh had been the league’s second-longest tenured coach, behind only Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin, who subsequently resigned on Tuesday. Appointed in 2008, Harbaugh had famously led the Ravens to a Super Bowl victory over a San Francisco 49ers team coached by his younger brother Jim in the 2011-2012 season, the so-called “Har-bowl.”
After the 2012 Super Bowl victory, Harbaugh never managed to take the Ravens back to the NFL’s championship game. His team suffered a heart-breaking 17-10 home defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2024 AFC Championship game.
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