John Harbaugh grade for Giants coaching hire after $100 million deal

The New York Giants have their next head coach.

According to several reports, John Harbaugh has agreed to become the next head coach of the New York Giants. While the deal is not finalized, Harbaugh has accepted the job and the two sides will spend Thursday working on the finishing touches of what is believed to be a five-year contract. Beyond agreeing to terms, the sides will perform “due diligence” on filling out a staff under Harbaugh, but they might already have their offensive coordinator lined up.

More on that in a moment.

According to additional reporting on Thursday morning, Harbaugh is expected to sign a five-year deal worth around $100 million.

From our vantage point, this seems like a perfect pairing.

When the job vacancies were initially set, we ranked the Giants job as the best available opportunity on the market. Only when the Baltimore Ravens fired Harbaugh did that vacancy drop New York down to No. 2.

When Harbaugh was fired, he became one of the more attractive candidates on the open market. This is a coach who lead the Ravens to the playoffs in 12 of his 18 seasons in Baltimore, won a Super Bowl, and appeared in two other AFC title games. He leaves Baltimore as the winningest coach in the franchise’s history, but still has years of coaching ahead of him.

Why is New York an attractive landing spot? It starts with the quarterback position. With Jaxson Dart, the Giants at least have a young option at the QB position to build around. Yes, there are concerns with Dart, but having a second-year quarterback on a rookie deal is a solid starting point. And Dart will reportedly get some help, as there is reporting that former Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken will follow Harbaugh to New York.

That also makes a great deal of sense, given what Monken has done with Lamar Jackson, another mobile quarterback, in recent years.

Beyond Dart, the offense will get Cam Skattebo and Malik Nabers back from injury. Add in perhaps another first-round wide receiver with the fifth pick in the draft, and suddenly this is an offense that is looking more dangerous on paper.

Defensively, you have four former first-round picks up front (Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Abdul Carter, and Dexter Lawrence. There is also talent in the secondary led by safety Jevon Holland, one of the best in the league at that position.

But zooming out from the current roster, the Giants have the fifth-overall pick in the draft (along with the fifth pick in the second round), and New York is not in a brutal position cap-wise. With some wise financial moves, and some additions in the off-season, this could be a much better team in 2026 than it was in 2025.

Add in the benefits of a fourth-place schedule, and this is a pretty solid landing spot.

That must have been enticing to Harbaugh, who has reportedly reached an agreement with the Giants to become their next head coach. He will bring stability, playoff experience, a Super Bowl title, and years of success to an organization that badly needs all of those things.

And it is that stability that New York needs, as this organization has cycled through four different head coaching hires since the departure of Tom Coughlin.

Harbaugh is the model of stability.

Grade: A