Darius Slayton Wanted a Coughlin-Type Coach for the Giants — And He Got One in John Harbaugh

The Giants receiver called for old-school accountability before Harbaugh was hired — now he says the new head coach is delivering exactly that.

New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton, like many Giants fans, became sick of the constant losing seasons. 

So at the end of last year when he was asked what he wanted to see in the team’s next head coach, Slayton mentioned two-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Tom Coughlin as the prototype for what he hoped team ownership would consider in its next leader.

In head coach John Harbaugh, Slayton got his wish.  

“Yeah, absolutely. I feel like he's in that echelon, that ilk,” Slayton said. “You know, he obviously came from arguably one of the most old-school divisions in football of the Ravens and the Steelers. I definitely think he's what we needed.”

Slayton pointed to the sense of accountability that Harbaugh has instilled in the locker room, the accountability applying to everyone with no exceptions, regardless of one’s draft status or contract.

“Overall, there's just no room for anybody just to do whatever they want,” Slayton said, declining to offer specifics of how Harbaugh has instilled more accountability.

“That's the best way I can put it to you. Everybody's accountable. Everybody has to be on time. Everybody has to show effort at practice, or you would be held accountable.”

Jul 30, 2026; White Sulphur Springs, WV, USA; New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh watches on during a drill during training camp at The Greenbrier Resort Sports Performance Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Harbaugh, according to Slayton, doesn’t beat around the bush. If the head coach has something to say, he’ll come right out and say it, getting his point across and leaving little room for misunderstanding.

“Already in this camp, he's already kind of expressed that at the end of the day, you know, in this life, if somebody's not doing something up to the echelon that you want them to do, you go to them, you make that clear to them that that's not what we're going to do around here, then they have a chance to respond,” Slayton said.

“And that's something that he's already done in our first few days of camp and has gotten a positive response out of the individuals that he's done that with. So, I think that's really big for a football team.”

Besides the accountability, Harbaugh has put the team to work. They are coming off four straight days of practice in which not a minute of the scheduled time was wasted.

Following a day off on Sunday, they will go through six straight days of practice, with at least three scheduled days of pads in which the intensity will be cranked up even further. “Practice has been at a great pace, but I feel like, again, we've done such a good job of mixing and matching guys that it allows for people to be able to play fast and play hard,” Slayton said.

“Ultimately, you stack more explosive reps. You don't get into as many of those six or seven, eight reps in a row; the reality is by the time you get seven, eight reps in, you're fried. I definitely think that's been great.”

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