John Harbaugh Opens Up on the Hardest Part of Cutdown Week: 'Very Challenging'

And just like that, the dog days of training camp for the New York Giants are behind them as they enter the final week of the preseason, a critical week for head coach John Harbaugh, the coaching staff, and the players.

There are roster decisions to be made, regular-season routines to get used to, and, through it all, improvements still rule the daily agenda.

It’s a critical point for Harbaugh, who, in recognizing the human element of what’s to come, knows that in a matter of a week, he’ll have to be the bearer of bad news to almost half of his rostered players who have given the team everything they have, only to eventually learn that it wasn’t enough to continue on their journey with Big Blue.

John Harbaugh spoke at length when asked roster cuts looming

"Everybody's pulling for everybody. Guys that are competing for the same position - they're rooting for each other. You see so many of the best things about human mature come out on a football team" pic.twitter.com/HJ1kQMltF6
— SNY Giants (@SNYGiants) August 23, 2026

“We tell them your best dream is not too big; in fact, it might not even be big enough,” Harbaugh, in response to a question posed by New York Giants On SI, said in a lengthy answer.

“If they're not laughing at your dream, then it's not big enough either, so say it, speak it, and go for it. These guys have really done that. I feel like they've really put that out there and they've talked to each other; they've committed to helping one another achieve each other's dreams. Everybody's pulling for everybody.”

The supportive structure Harbaugh described is precisely the type of culture he sought to build when hired by the Giants to lead the franchise out of its modern-day Wilderness Years.

The bond the team has built has been evident. There’s been nary a training camp scuffle, and there's also been more and more cross-training, to the point where offensive and defensive players have come together to share feedback and tips to help each other improve, while even players in direct competition share feedback between plays.

Harbaugh likes that.

“You see it on the sideline, you see it between guys who are competing for the same position,” he said. “They're rooting for each other and helping each other along. I mean, you see so many of the best things about human nature come out on a football team, believe it or not.

“And maybe people that aren't a part of the sport would have a tough time believing that, but I think those of us who've been around the sport understand that this is how it works and it's a cool thing.”

Now Comes the Hard Part

Aug 15, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh looks on during the first half against the Minnesota Vikings at MetLife Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Harbaugh, now in his 19th year as head coach, undoubtedly finds having to tell guys who have given everything they have that it wasn’t good enough one of the most gut-wrenching aspects of the job.

There is no easy way to do that, after all, but the veteran head coach, in his message to those who don’t make the initial 53-man roster, wants to leave those players with hope for the future.

“This week, to your point, is a very challenging week because there will be guys that won't be here after this week. Now, maybe they'll come back–we brought (defensive lineman) Ben (Barten) back, the defensive lineman who just got released by the Jets and came back to us again here this week,” Harbaugh said.

And if they don’t, Harbaugh said he hopes the young men who do receive a visit from “The Turk” understand that it’s not so much about what they didn’t accomplish as about how far they’ve come.

“How many of us who played football wouldn't have loved to have had an opportunity to be in a football camp in the National Football League? To be invited, to get a tryout even? All the not-so-good players like me would have loved that,” he said.

“I tell these guys, ‘You are the very best. Every single player here in this room is a great football player.’ You talk about the top .0001 percent of football players, even athletes, in the world that are going to be in a football camp.

“But then there are levels to that too, just like there are levels to anything else. I would say everybody, every one of our guys, whether they're here the next week or they're not, will look back and say they did their very best, they put their best foot forward, and it's something that they can look back on really for the rest of their life proudly.”

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