The battle to hire former Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbauugh appears to have come to an end.
According to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Harbaugh has agreed to become head coach of the New York Giants with both sides finalizing the details of his contract.
“John Harbaugh and the Giants are working to finalize an agreement to make him New York’s next head coach and, barring a setback, a deal is expected, multiple sources tell ESPN,” Schefter wrote on Wednesday, January 14. “The deal is not final and contract numbers still are being negotiated. ‘There still is a lot to work through,’ one source said. But barring any setbacks, Harbaugh is ready to accept the Giants’ deal and the Giants are expected to hire him as soon as possible, per sources.”
Harbaugh was fired by Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti after 18 seasons and following a season in which the Giants went 8-9 overall and missed the playoffs after they entered the season as Super Bowl contenders.
In 18 seasons, Harbaugh led the Ravens to the playoffs 13 times and won the Super Bowl following the 2012 season. He takes over in New York for Brian Daboll, who was fired after a 2-8 start and going 20-40-1 in just under 4 seasons.
Giants Took Lead on Harbaugh From Jump
According to Schefter, the Giants took the lead on Harbaugh immediately after he was fired by the Ravens and never let go — the Atlanta Falcons and Tennessee Titans were also in the hunt.
“No team was more aggressive than the Giants in pursuing John Harbaugh, who visited their facility Wednesday,” Schefter wrote. ” … The Giants went from 2004–2015 with one head coach in Tom Coughlin. Since then, they’ve gone from Ben McAdoo to Pat Shurmur to Joe Judge to Brian Daboll. Bringing in John Harbaugh is the hope of restoring the stability the organization once had.”
There are now 8 openings left for NFL head coaching jobs, including 3 in the NFC North with the Ravens, Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers, where Mike Tomlin resigned after 19 seasons following a loss in the AFC Wild Card Round.
What Harbaugh Inherits With Giants
You don’t have to be a football genius to look at the Giants roster and realize there’s a pretty good team in there somewhere — Harbaugh is just going to have to be the one to figure out how to get them to play together.
On offense, the Giants spent a first round pick in 2025 on Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart (No. 25 overall), who looks like he could be a dynamic dual threat quarterback if he ever learns to slide but battled concussion issues as a rookie. They also have stars in wide receiver Malik Nabers, who will be coming off a torn ACL in 2026, and offensive tackle Andrew Thomas.
On defense, the Giants could have one of the NFL’s best defensive fronts with edge rusher and 2025 No. 3 overall pick Abdul Carter, edge rusher Brian Burns, who had a staggering 16.5 sacks in 2025, and Dexter Lawrence, who is considered by many to be the best defensive tackle in the NFL.
After going 4-13 in 2025, the Giants will have the No. 5 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft.
John Harbaugh Makes Final Decision on Head Coaching Future