Why Eli Manning is a Fan of the Giants' Hire of Head Coach John Harbaugh

Eli Manning weighed in on why John Harbaugh is the perfect fit for the Giants' head coaching job.

New Giants Head Coach John Harbaugh speaks with members of the media during a press conference welcoming Harbaugh at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2025. | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

No matter who you ask about the New York Giants' hiring former Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh as the next coach of their franchise, the historic move has everyone singing the praises of the first accomplishment of the offseason. 

The next person in that lineage of supporters is none other than two-time Super Bowl champion and former Giants quarterback Eli Manning. 

Manning, who retired from the game of football after 16 seasons as the lead signal caller for New York before joining the organization in a limited support role, has still kept his tabs on things happening around the building due to his close relationship with executives and owners John Mara and Steve Tisch. 

It was because of that relationship that Manning felt comfortable enough to voice his opinion on who the Giants should pursue as their 21st head coach to get the franchise back on track.

“I've talked with ownership and John Mara, kind of during the season, when I knew they would be in search of a new coach,” Manning told Alex Sherman of CNBC Sport.

“I told them my thoughts on just the type of coach that they needed, someone that had been a head coach before and understands what it's like to deal with the media and what it's like to be the same person, year in, year out, day in, day out.”

And those thoughts were what?

“Just kind of really be a CEO of not just the team but the whole organization, the whole building, and hold everybody to a higher standard of accountability,” Manning said.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist’s one concern for the latest search was whether that prospect would emerge in what started as a limited pool of options. But when Harbaugh shook loose after over a decade in Baltimore, it was a no-brainer. 

“You see the news about John Harbaugh, and it's exactly the coach and the person that I believe we needed,” Manning said. “[The Giants] responded quickly, and I think they recognized that as well, just because of the person that he is first off and the success he's had as a head coach.”

Former New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin and quarterback Eli Manning hug during the ceremony honoring the Super Bowl XLVI winning team. The Giants fall to the Rams, 38-11, at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021, in East Rutherford. | Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A winning pedigree

If there is anyone in the Giants organization who truly understands the impact a head coach like John Harbaugh can have on a team, it’s certainly Manning, who played for such a coach in Coughlin for 13 of his 16 seasons under center. 

Coughlin took the Giants job in a similarly unexpected fashion as Harbaugh back in 2004, when the Giants were coming off the tail end of the Jim Fassel era. 

They had rotated through three different head coaches since the 1991 campaign and had produced just four winning seasons with playoff appearances, three of which fell short of reaching the Super Bowl. 

In came Coughlin, who made a name for his no-nonsense approach and old-school coaching mentality, and the Giants would suddenly ascend back into the range of respect in the NFL again.

The beginning of his partnership with Manning started shaky when the quarterback was acquired in 2004 via a blockbuster draft-day trade in Coughlin’s first season. 

But over time, Manning and Coughlin blossomed into the perfect duo that led the Giants to six winning seasons and two unforgettable trips to Super Bowls XLII and XLVI.

Both of those proved to be improbable wins over the Patriots, the first of which ruined New England’s historic bid to become the first undefeated team in the NFL since the 1972 Miami Dolphins.

Almost a decade after Coughlin and the Giants parted ways, many see many of the same qualities in Harbaugh. The one difference from his distant predecessor is the already complete resume of a championship leader that will command the attention of the entire franchise. 

One that has fallen away from the winning formula for far too long and gotten caught in off-field distractions that have lessened the capabilities of the talent in the locker room. 

Harbaugh will once again put those factors to rest and use his experience to develop a new culture of enthusiasm and team-first mentality that once worked with a bunch of players headlined by Manning. 

With another major voice like Manning behind him, the Giants can at least view step one of their rebound as a huge success, given they landed the big fish they’ve been longing for at the helm.

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