Giants Reportedly "Checked in" On Mike Tomlin Before Hiring John Harbaugh

The Giants made sure to do as thorough of a search for a new head coach as possible.

The Giants reportedly checked in on former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin before meeting with John Harbaugh. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

At the end of the day, the New York Giants were able to get the cream of the crop of the available head coaching candidates in John Harbaugh, whom the Baltimore Ravens fired shortly after the 2025 season ended.

The cost to New York is a reported five-year deal worth around $100 million, a steep, yet necessary price to pay for a proven winner and a man with Harbaugh’s head coaching resume. 

But the Giants, in doing full due diligence in their vetting of head coaching candidates, also checked in on Mike Tomlin, another long-time AFC North head coach who resigned his post with the Pittsburgh Steelers after they were eliminated in the Wild Card playoff round, according to an NFL Network report.

The Insiders on @NFLGameDay with @MikeGarafolo & @TomPelissero: #Packers locked in HC Matt LaFleur; Brian Daboll is a top OC candidate with some HC interest; The #Giants hired John Harbaugh, but not before a member of ownership checked on Mike Tomlin. pic.twitter.com/GKyoLDemNr

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 18, 2026

The check-in occurred on Tuesday, a day before the Giants met with Harbaugh at their East Rutherford facility for a whirlwind day that culminated in the Giants brass offering Harbaugh the job, and he accepting it hours later.

The Giants, who weren’t the only ones to check in on Tomlin, were told that Tomlin planned to sit out the 2026 season. 

Perhaps that is a good thing for teams, because had Tomlin wanted to continue coaching elsewhere, the Steelers hold his rights, meaning an interested team would have had to trade draft assets to obtain the rights to Tomlin’s contract and services. 

The Giants, who wrapped up contract negotiations with Harbaugh on Saturday, are set to introduce him at a press conference set for Tuesday at noon at the team’s East Rutherford, NJ headquarters. 

Among Harbaugh’s first orders of business as he gets to work on putting together his program for the team will be to meet with the assistant coaches from the previous regime to determine which men he wants to retain, and which men are interested in staying on; those meetings are set to begin on Tuesday.

Harbaugh is also expected to have the Giants seek permission from the Ravens to interview a handful of those assistant coaches he is interested in having join him with the Giants. Offensive coordinator Todd Monken is one of four assistant coaches reportedly permitted to interview with Harbaugh for the Giants' posts. 

What happens next with the NY Giants? Find out! Follow and like us on Facebook. Visit our YouTube channel for the latest videos. Want to send a question in for our mailbag? Send it here.