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This is an enormous hiring for the New York Giants. The New York Giants haven't had this level of an adult in the room. certainly since Tom Caufflin. And there you go. That is ESPN.
And that of that very familiar name, Dan Orslavski, he was talking about the Giants possibly hiring as early as today, make the announcement that John Harbaugh is an ex-coach, where it is that it's $20 million a year for the next five years. Harbaugh will leave the Ravens after 18 years. And I cannot remember Giant fans happier than they are right now. Ian O'Connor knows all about it. Outstanding calmness with the Athletic, six-time New York Times bestseller, has been all over this story from day one.
Ian, is there anything that could derail this? I don't think so, Brian. They're still working through some things this morning. I would be very surprised at this point. Is it impossible it gets derailed?
No, but it looks like they'll announce later today. And I think that Giants fans, I agree with Dan Orlofsky, that this is the biggest hire. I actually think it's bigger than Tom Coughlin. I think when Coughlin got hired, the Giants were in the Super Bowl four years before that. The Giants have been losing here for 14 years for the most part.
And to me, I've been covering sports in New York for four decades. This is the biggest hire the New York Giants have ever made in that time period. You said you were talking to him and he used the word we when he was talking about the Giants? John Harbaugh did, right? That was two days after he was fired.
I talked to him on the phone, and I could tell Brian right then and there, he wanted to be the coach of the Giants. I understand that the Falcons and the Titans were in there, the Dolphins to some degree, maybe the Cleveland Browns, but To me, the Giants were far and away the leader in the clubhouse. And he just felt like it was a good fit. He likes the young quarterback Jackson Dart of the Giants. He likes some pieces on that roster.
And he likes the idea of coaching for a storied franchise in the biggest market in the country. And he'll get that opportunity. You asked him if you thought his brother might be interested in coming to the Giants.
Well and his answer was? The New York Football Giants, are you kidding me?
So I knew then, that was four years ago. I knew then that John Harbaugh understood what it meant to coach a franchise like that in New York. Yeah, I'm not surprised that once he was fired. I knew, and I listened, even before he was fired, the Giants had him at the top of their list. They did some homework on him.
They thought he might get let go, and they were right. But Harbaugh, who thought he was going to get another season in Baltimore, didn't. But before the end of the season, in case he got fired, he looked at some possible openings, and the Giants were at the top of his list too.
So it's a good fit, and obviously, we'll see how it plays out.
So do you think if there wasn't talent on the roster, it would still be a good fit? Or, I mean, people look at the record if they don't really follow the Giants. They think, oh, it's another bad team. But there's talent on that roster. Do you think there's something about the roster that made it more attractive or just the legacy?
Jackson Dart, well, the legacy matters to him, but if they didn't have a quarterback, I don't think he takes this job. The quarterback is everything. It's the quarterback and the head coach. When you have those two things, you get those two things right, you can win a lot of games. Look at Chicago this year, Ben Johnson, all of a sudden, they've got a chance to go the distance.
Jacksonville this year, New England with Mike Vrabel. Once you get the coach right, as long as you have the quarterback in place. You can suddenly win a ton of games. I think the Giants next year, they were 4-13 this year. They've been terrible again for the most part for 14 years.
If you told me next year, Brian, that they're 10-7 and a wild card in the playoffs, I think that's plausible as long as they complete the hire of Harvaugh, which I expect them to do today, and Jackson Dart stays healthy. How do you think he gets along with the GM? I was talking to a friend of his that knows him well, coaches with him, and he says he does not want to be the general manager. But I'm sure he wants influence in the draft and personnel and free agent signings. How do you think that'll work?
Great way of putting it. He does not want to be the GM. He doesn't need total control of the roster. Remember, Brian in Baltimore, he worked with Ozzie Newsom, one of the best GMs ever in the NFL. After Ozzie Newsom was done, Eric DaCosta steps in.
He's one of the best GMs in the NFL today. And John had a good partnership with both of those executives.
Now, was it perfect all the time? No, but it was a very productive partnership. That's what he's looking for here with Joe Shane. Joe Shane is 13 and 38 in his last three years as GM of the Giants.
So there's some questions there. And certainly, you don't bring in an 18-year winner and future Hall of Famer in John Harbaugh and not give him any say in terms of the construction of the roster. It doesn't make any sense.
So my suspicion is that when they finalize terms, Harbaugh will have some control of the roster and some say over roster decisions, but I don't think he'll have total control. Right. And no one doubts Joe Shane's very popular within the league and respected. If you've talked to other GMs, you've talked to people, writers, you know, I know some picks he made and everyone talks about the hard knocks and say letting Saquon go. But Saquon letting Saquon go look bad last year, but not as bad this year.
And then I remember talking to the commissioner of football when the Saquon thing went down. I was at the Al Smith dinner. And I talked to Roger Goodell, and he just casually mentioned, you know, the Giants at this point. You know, that's not really where they, you know, usually teams spend their money on the running back. They need so much.
So it's not that bad of a deal. Like, I don't think he knew they were going to win the Super Bowl, but that's the way things fall. Maybe he can show him flexibility on the cap. But looking around the other opening spots, Mike Tomlin says I'm taking a year off, so that wipes him out. I hear Brian Dable, the former giant coach, is a contender for the Titan job.
I'm not sure he's going to get a head coaching job in this cycle, but I think he'll get a second chance in the league. His first year, as you remember, in New York, Dable took the Giants to the playoffs. That maybe in some ways sort of set them up for failure because then they made decisions to try to go all in and the team wasn't there yet. And then that first year run to the playoffs with Shane as GM and Dable as the head coach might have actually derailed that program in a strange way. But Brian Dable will get another chance at some point.
I think Stefansky will certainly get a job. I wouldn't be surprised in Pittsburgh if Brian Flores. Who almost got the Giants' job when Dable got it? Is the person who wins that derby with the Steelers to follow Mike Tomlin?
Now, that's a tough act to follow. Guy had never had a losing season in 19 years. But at the same time, fans were ready for Tomlin to go. Tomlin was ready to go.
So that made sense. But I would see Flores as a very good possibility in Pittsburgh. But isn't he suing the league for discrimination? He is, yeah.
So, but I don't believe the Steelers aren't cited in that lawsuit. The Giants. Were cited in that lawsuit because he felt they gave him a sham interview. I don't think it was a sham interview because I know John Mara actually personally reached out to Brian Flores and wanted him, if it were up to John Mara. Flores might have gotten the job, but Joe Shane wanted Brian Dable.
So I think that we'll see what happens with that lawsuit. If he gets to Steelers' job, is it possible that suit goes away? Maybe. But I will say this, Flores is a great. Defensive coordinator.
He is really, really one of the best I've ever seen. He did a pretty good job as the Miami head coach. He needed to work on a few things, his interpersonal relationships in the organization went a little sideways. But Flores, second time around as a head coach, I would bet on that. What about Shula's grandson?
Are they defensive coordinator of uh the Rams? I was just talking to a colleague yesterday and saying that If I'm the Dolphins, and I understand that you don't want to hire someone because he's the grandson of Don Shula, but if you're the Miami Dolphins, That has to be awfully appealing, particularly since he's considered one of the best coordinators in the league and has Sean McVay's blessing. If I'm the Dolphins' owner or general manager, Chris Euler to me, it's like the best of both worlds. And they don't have a quarterback. That's the problem.
So They need a young coach to go in there and build that team and find a quarterback and succeed long term with that person. But I would, if I'm the Dolphins, I would be very interested in Chris Euler.
So let's talk about this weekend. I think the game of the weekend, I think you're looking at, I'm very intrigued to see if Buffalo is going to live up to the highest. Buffalo is going to continue the momentum. And can Denver live up to the hype of that regular season? Because they were great, but they weren't dominant, Ian.
Right. I don't see a great team. anywhere in this tournament. And I think this is the year for Buffalo to get to the Super Bowl. I think Josh Allen in the AFC side of the draw with no Mahomes this year, no Joe Burrow, no Lamar Jackson.
This is Josh Allen's year to make a really serious run at winning a championship. He's too good a player, too tough a player to not win a Super Bowl. I wrote that earlier this year. And this is his moment. And I think he can go in there, and I think he will go in there and beat Denver.
I think having won last week. In Jacksonville, Denver sitting around as a number one seed. Hey, they earned their place at the top of the AFC, but They're sitting around and they're not a superpower by any stretch of the imagination.
So I think Buffalo will win that game and maybe win the AFC championship the following week. Nearly home. Isn't home where we all want to be? Reba here for Realtor.com, the pro's number one most trusted app. If you're hearing me, I'm going to assume you're awake.
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Well, but the best overall team that you see right now might be Seattle, but now Darnold's got an oblique issue, which I've had that, and I'm very similar athlete. I'm very similar caliber athlete to Sam Darnold. People have compared me to him often, but I've had that, and he really can't move. No, and I mean, just think of the torque you need, the rotation of your hips and everything else when you're a quarterback. You're planning and you're firing.
And I've had oblique issues at times. And obviously, we can't compare ourselves to NFL quarterbacks. But just think, and if you get hit when you're throwing the ball. man it's going to hurt without question sam darnold's a tough guy So, I think he'll hang in there, do the best he can, but that's going to be a very difficult assignment. I think Seattle will survive.
I have Seattle going to the Super Bowl because I do think. From the top of the roster to the bottom, they're the best team. And if I had to put $10 on it, I would say Buffalo versus Seattle in the Super Bowl.
So I think they'll get through it, but that oblique injury does concern me. I think America would love the Buffalo Bills story of failing so often, and they're such a likable quarterback, and he's really a throwback in the 70s when a quarterback could win the game single-handedly. It reminds me of Elway. You know, Elway could just find a way in his prime and the years in which he lost, not so much at the end.
So, Bills, Broncos, you pick. Bills. The Texans, Patriots, you picked the Patriots. Right? I do.
49ers. If Donald doesn't play, I don't think the 49ers lose. He'll play. We'll play.
Okay. And then you have Bears, Rams. Your thought? I'll go with the Rams there. Yeah, Stafford is probably the MVP of the league.
And listen, it's a very interesting game. I could see that going either way. But again, if I had to put 10 bucks on it, I'd say the Rams. I'll tell you, Caleb Williams, I've probably saw him play four games. I don't have to give up my Sundays like you do, Ian, and watch all this stuff anymore.
But when I watch him play, That guy is a complete quarterback. Man, is he strong, tough to get down, elusive when he has to be, accurate when he passes, and confident? I'm not going to guy this second year. I think it's his 10th. You're right.
And man, the improvement. From last year to this year, again, when you get Ben Johnson in there and you get a real head coach, what a difference, particularly somebody who knows how to work with quarterbacks. And when I see him play, I see a young Aaron Rodgers just faster. And so he has everything. And yeah, it's going to be that combination, Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams, is going to be a real problem for people to deal with over the next 10 years.
Aaron Rodgers gone, you wrote a book about him. Is he do you think he's gone now? Retires? I do because if Tomlin stayed, I think he would have played another year in Pittsburgh. I really do.
Tomlin leaving, really, he's not going to play. He's not going to stay in Pittsburgh.
Now, the options to me are retirement, which is probably the best option, or maybe Minnesota. They gambled on J.J. McCarthy. They kind of lost that gamble. Kevin O'Connell, the coach of the Vikings, really likes Rogers.
That's a possibility, but I think the more likely and the best case scenario for him right now at age 42 is to say goodbye. He got a dignified ending to his Hall of Fame career. He wasn't getting that, certainly, with the Jets getting fired by Woody Johnson. I think this was a good enough ending and allows him to say goodbye. I would say this about J.J.
McCarthy. So many people, sometimes it takes quarterbacks three or four years, five years. This guy said one year. I mean, I don't know what he's showing. He seems to be fiery and confident and a natural leader, certainly from a fine program.
I would not, unless that coach, who knows quarterbacks by anybody else, says he doesn't have it, I overestimate him, which is scary because he got a chance to see him and scout him and picked him and let Darnold go to keep him.
So unless he says he's let me down or he's got an off-the-field problem, I would not give up after a guy in one year. Look at Darnold and the Jets. Look at Darnold. And he was what? This is his fourth team now?
Probably right, Brian. I think, well, he got hurt last year. And then he got hurt some this year too.
So that's a problem. I'm talking about McCarthy. And so, and O'Connell really has a good relationship with Aaron Rodgers, and they considered him seriously last year.
So, I think you're right, he'll probably stick with McCarthy, but it's not 100%.
So, Ian, how much? It looks like Dart did a lot of recruiting. I thought it was classy of Brian Dable to talk with. Barbaugh and tell him what a great organization it is. After all, they just fired him four months ago.
I thought that was awesome. Coughlin got on the phone with him.
So I think that he's wanted. When do you think the press conference will be? And lastly, the best thing about him, and the reason why I talk about him, he's a class person. In everything you hear about, he treats people with dignity. He has a great sense of values and ethics, and that all figures into his smarts as a coach.
Coaches with humanity, Brian. He does. And I think a little bit more of a kinder, gentler version of his brother, Jim Harbaugh. And but this is a home run for the Giants. I think the press conference would be Tuesday, most likely.
Did you say Monday? You said Monday. I think they'll skip Monday for the holiday and do it Tuesday. And they got to hammer out the final details today, which. I think there's a 95% chance they'll do that, announce it, and then the Giants hopefully are finally off to the races.
And the other thing is, he actually answers questions at a press conference.
Some of these coaches say nothing. The letter they're waiting to say nothing. You'll actually answer questions, and it kind of makes it more interesting in New York. Ian, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
Read Ian in the athletic. Pick up all his books. You'll never be disappointed. Thanks so much, Ian. Have a great weekend.
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