Why John Harbaugh's arrival in New York shouldn't panic Commanders fans

The New York Giants just sent a message to the NFC East by hiring John Harbaugh as the next head coach, indicating they don't plan to be at the bottom of the division any longer. As the team that nearly fell to that spot themselves, the Washington Commanders are surely paying attention, and even if they're not, their fans are.

While the national reaction is that the Commanders’ rival hit a home run by landing Harbaugh, as I take a closer look at the reactions, I’ve noticed distinct groups separating the expected responses into several unique categories.

To some, the days of Washington counting the two games against the Giants as automatic wins are over, and head coach Dan Quinn’s four-game winning streak with Washington against the Giants will now have to go up against Harbaugh’s 3-2 record against the burgundy and gold.

The Panic: Losing Caleb Downs

Within the group who are trying not to panic are those who believe New York will start its rise from the bottom of the NFC East Division by drafting Ohio State safety Caleb Downs before Commanders general manager Adam Peters has a chance to. The thought being that Harbaugh will look to add a new version of Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton to his new roster.

Since the Giants have the No. 5 pick, two spots ahead of No. 7 where Washington sits, there’s nothing beyond trading up at a significant price that Peters could do to stop it.

Dec 14, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn looks on during warms up prior to the game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

The Coping: Dismissing the resume

Outside of the doom and gloom crowd, there are those who are coping with Harbaugh’s arrival to the NFC East by simply dismissing the two decades of relatively consistent success. Since his arrival in 2008, Harbaugh’s Ravens teams produced just three sub-.500 seasons and made it to the postseason 12 times in 18 seasons, winning the Super Bowl in 2013.

The counter to that success is a simple one. Instead of crediting the coach, that praise goes to general manager Ozzie Newsome, who they claim carried the coach until 2018. Harbaugh, it would seem, has been riding the wave ever since, finally crashing to earth this past year.

There are those I’ve seen who even claim Harbaugh only had his job into this season because of linebacker Ray Lewis and safety Ed Reed, neither of whom has played for Baltimore since 2012.

The final flavor of this group that I’ve seen thus far simply believes the Giants, especially with general manager Joe Schoen keeping his job, will mess this up like they have everything else in recent memory.

What we don’t see is the faction of Commanders fans who simply believe their favorite team has a better head coach, better quarterback, or even a better general manager; the missing opinion I doubt we would have seen as noticeably had this move come in the 2025 offseason instead of 2026.

The Reality: The NFC East just got harder

The predominant opinion is that the NFC East Division just got better with Harbaugh’s arrival, and that while teams like Washington and the Dallas Cowboys may be viewing the Philadelphia Eagles as a wounded champion ripe for an unseating in the coming season, at least most believe there is a growing threat in New Jersey, even if not every burgundy and gold fan is sold on the idea.

Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more FREE coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2025 season.

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