John Harbaugh and New York Giants working on deal to make him their new coach – Chicago Tribune
John Harbaugh and the New York Giants are working on a deal to make him the team’s head coach, two people with knowledge of the decision said Thursday morning.
The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been finalized. Negotiations are ongoing, but Harbaugh is expected to end up in New York.
Harbaugh has many options if the parties cannot reach an agreement, but the goal is “to get to the finish line.”
Harbaugh spoke in person with the Giants on Wednesday, spending hours at the team’s facility in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The former coach of the Super Bowl-winning Baltimore Ravens was considered New York’s top candidate in the search for Brian Daboll’s full-time successor.
Fired by the Baltimore Ravens after missing the playoffs following a botched field goal attempt at the buzzer in the season finale, Harbaugh is on track to choose the Giants over other possible landing spots, including Tennessee and Atlanta.
The Ravens made the playoffs 12 times in 18 seasons under Harbaugh and won the Super Bowl in the 2012 season, a year after the Giants’ last championship.
General manager Joe Schoen, who is back for a fifth season as head of the football operations department, said he will cast a wide net in the coaching search. Interviews with Raheem Morris and Antonio Pierce satisfied the NFL’s Rooney Rule requirements for minority or female candidates, and Harbaugh’s visit to northern New Jersey paved the way for a hire ahead of one of the more than half-dozen teams with a vacancy.
