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Five Takeaways From John Harbaugh's First Press Conference With Giants

What we learned from John Harbaugh’s first press conference as the Giants’ head coach.
Eva Geitheim|
John Harbaugh was introduced as the Giants new head coach on Tuesday.
John Harbaugh was introduced as the Giants new head coach on Tuesday. | Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

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New York Giants

The New York Football Giants officially introduced John Harbaugh as the 21st head coach of the franchise on Tuesday.

Three days after the Giants made the deal official, Harbaugh was welcomed on stage to speak with the Giants’ media for the first time. Greeted by an applause and donning the signature Harbaugh enthusiastic smile, he quickly set the tone in his first public statements as the Giants’ head coach.

“It’s a profound honor to be entrusted with the responsibility of coaching the New York Football Giants,” Harbaugh said. ... “One of the most iconic franchises in all of sports, I wanted this job.”

He continued, “To be on the biggest stage in the biggest sport, I know the challenges, I understand the expectations, I know the fans are hungry for a winner. We’re here with one mission, to earn the right to be called the World Champions in New York, and that’s what we plan to do.”

More: John Harbaugh Explains Why He’s Excited to Coach the Giants

With Harbaugh’s introduction now complete, here are five takeaways from his first press conference as the team’s head coach.

John Harbaugh downplays Giants' new reporting system

Part of the holdup in getting Harbaugh’s deal done with the Giants was the organization agreeing to a new reporting system. Prior to Harbaugh, the Giants have had the team’s head coach report to the general manager and the general manager report to the owner. Now, both the Giants head coach and general manager will report to the owner, the same system Harbaugh had with the Ravens.

Harbaugh downplayed the importance of the new system while addressing reporters on Tuesday.

"It's really not that important in the big scheme of things, it's overblown just a little bit in terms of how it works,” Harbaugh said. “... That’s what I was used to, it felt like a good way to start off. I think Mr. Mara was happy about that, it seemed like it made sense, but i don’t think it really matters. I promise you, we all report to the boss, and the boss is ownership.”

Chris Mara said of the changes: "We're comfortable doing this with him. With anybody else, it might not have happened that way. Everyone was in agreement. We're good."

As for personnel decisions, Chris Mara notes that Harbaugh won’t have the final say and that the process will be collaborative, but that Harbaugh will be “the most important cog in the wheel.”

Schoen added of Harbaugh’s voice carrying the most weight: “I'm not worried about that. I've been in the league for 26 years, so everywhere I've been, the head coach and general manager work together. That's the only way it's going to work. Get on the same page, go through the process, we've done it everywhere I've been.

John Harbaugh ‘impressed’ by Joe Schoen

There were questions about the Giants’ decision to retain Schoen over starting fresh when they searched for a new coach, but Harbaugh appears to have put any concerns to rest with his praise for Schoen.

"You get to know Joe and we started talking ball and see he is a football man,” Harbaugh said. “This guy lives and breathes football. His knowledge is deep, he knows the league, knows the coaches, players, scouts in the league. He was impressive to me and it was really a joy to talk football and dig into some of the plans that we might have going forward.”

Tom Coughlin helped the Giants land Harbaugh

The Giants got an assist in their pursuit of Harbaugh from their former coach, Tom Coughlin, who led the franchise to their last two Super Bowl titles.

Amid controlling owner John Mara’s cancer battle, his brother Chris has taken a greater role in the organization and their search for a head coach. Chris had never spoken to Harbaugh prior to their head coaching search, instead telling reporters on Tuesday that he got in contact with him through Coughlin.

Chris said that Coughlin told him, "Get your a-- down there [to Baltimore].” Chris also laughed recalling that Coughlin was over the top through the process, yelling at him 15 times before they got the deal done and one time after it was finished.

When Chris did meet with Harbaugh, he had to sell himself to the coach. "I wanted to make an impression on him from an ownership standpoint, and I think I did that,” Chris said. “I just was really conscious of the fact there was going to be so many different openings ... so that’s why I thought it was important to beat everybody to it.”

John Harbaugh received advice from Andy Reid

In taking the head coaching job with the Giants, Harbaugh is following in the footsteps of one of his mentors, Andy Reid. Harbaugh worked on Reid’s staff with the Eagles from 1999-2007 before become the Ravens head coach. After spending 13 years with the Eagles, Reid and the organization parted ways and he became the Chiefs head coach. He’s since led Kansas City to three Super Bowl titles, and Harbaugh will look to replace that success in his second stop with New York.

"Andy’s a man of few words,” Harbaugh said. “His four words to me were “change can be good.” He was excited, he’s fired up for us. He’s a good friend. How about we deal that right now? We'll sign up for that deal right now, what he did in Kansas City. Let's do that."

A family affair

Harbaugh’s wife Ingrid and parents Jack and Jackie were in attendance for his first press conference with the Giants, and it was clear the impact his family had on his decision and approach.

Early in his speech, Harbaugh recalled his parents’ signature catchphrase, saying his parents taught them to “attack this day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.”

Harbaugh noted that his dad’s confidence in the roster helped him believe what he saw on tape even more. “He called me up about three days into this process and goes, 'You watch the Giants?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah I watched them.’ He goes, ‘You see the way they come off the ball on offense? You see the offensive line, you see those guys, you see the quarterback? You see that defense, you see that front? You see those guys flying around back there?’ ... When my dad told me, I knew it was true."

Harbaugh extended gratitude to his wife, daughter and parents, and also took a quick moment to shout out to his brother Jim, “We’re not in the AFC, Jim. You can breathe easy.”

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Eva Geitheim
EVA GEITHEIM

Eva Geitheim is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in December 2024, she wrote for Newsweek, Gymnastics Now and Dodgers Nation. A Bay Area native, she has a bachelor's in communications from UCLA. When not writing, she can be found baking or re-watching Gilmore Girls.

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