Motivating players is supposed to be the cornerstone of what makes John Harbaugh special as a head coach, but the Super Bowl winner’s first attempt to get the New York Giants to buy into his rebuild has been met with less than flattering reviews.
In fact, Harbaugh’s initial address to his new players has been flamed by many on social media. The critics feel Harbaugh’s “rah-rah” rhetoric was more cringeworthy than inspiring.
Harbaugh’s speech before OTAs was released on the Giants’ ‘X’ account to promote the imminent release of “Giants Life: The Offseason.”
A lot of the content typically included buzz phrases, like Harbaugh making “W.I.N” a mantra, as in “What’s Important Now?” There was also an awkward moment when Harbaugh’s rallying call of “This is the New York Giants!” was met with silence.
Giants Life: The Offseason drops tomorrow 👀
Much of what Harbaugh said was typical coach speak appropriate for the offseason, but the lukewarm, muted reactions from his players have left the former Baltimore Ravens boss open to ridicule.
John Harbaugh Skewered for First Speech
Not surprisingly, a lot of the backlash against Harbaugh came from those who spend their time watching the Ravens. Including Nikhil Mehta of SB Nation’s Baltimore Beatdown, who critiqued Harbaugh’s manner with the line, “All due respect to Harbs, but he might want to get his hands out of his pockets when he’s giving a rah-rah speech…”
Mehta’s thoughts were echoed by Ravens fan and ‘X’ user Zach, who posted, “Hard watch John…..yikes,” while England-based Ravens writer Nic Mason wrote simply, “And the crowd went mild.”
It’s not just Ravens fans who feel Harbaugh’s first impression fell flat. So did Sun Sentinel beat reporter David Furones, who thinks “John Harbaugh’s speech with the New York Giants will have you ready to run through a — doorway, exiting the meeting room disappointed.”
While Furones believes Harbaugh failed to build a buzz in the room, WWL Radio’s Jeff Nowak viewed the clunky exchange a little differently. Nowak admitted “This feels awkward … and I think it’s because John expected some kind of response the first time he said “this is the New York Giants,” and the response would get louder as he said it louder. Instead the team committed to absolute silence as he yelled at them repeatedly.”
The lack of an audible and visible response from the Giants’ players could suggest there’s a disconnect. One based on the generation gap between a largely youthful roster and a 63-year-old coach.
Giants Must Respond to New Coach’s Track Record
Nowak’s comments about how “awkward” things got in the meeting room were part of an overall theme among the reactions to Harbaugh’s words. It’s a narrative that says the veteran sideline general is out of touch with the modern NFL athlete.
As Jeff Sunday of Bookit Sports put it, “Sad to say it but I think John Harbaughs shtick has passed. Gmen have a great young core of guys. Think they should’ve hired a young fun coach to pair with them. Not an old school guy. I’ll probably be fading.”
Meanwhile, ‘X’ user Louie Pickles believes “This newer generation doesn’t buy into the “rah rah” speeches of old. It’s a dated approach. Love John, but that era of football is dead.”
Perhaps Harbaugh’s visceral enthusiasm is the wrong note for a more jaded and reserved younger generation. It’s a gap Harbs has attempted to bridge with a calm response to outspoken wide receiver Malik Nabers, as well as a lighthearted take on running back Cam Skattebo’s latest physically risky exploits.
Harbaugh is embracing positivity wherever possible, but there’s also a chance the coach needs a more pragmatic method of motivating his whole team. One described by Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas, who deemed Harbaugh’s didn’t-quite-land rallying call “Cringe.. If I were the new Giants coach I’d open with ‘Anyone in here sick of losing? Anyone in here want to make more money? Great. I can help you with both (hold up my SB ring) but you gotta work hard and listen to me. Are we cool? Alright, LFG’ It’s not complicated.”
Balchunas’ reference to Harbaugh’s title-winning pedigree is the true key to how the new man in charge reaches these Giants players. They need to look at Harbaugh and trust that his methods, however “rah-rah” and clumsy they might appear, will lead them to their own championship.
For Harbaugh’s part, he has to acknowledge many of the players he inherited will naturally adopt a wait-and-see approach to the new coach after four tumultuous years of mostly losing under his predecessor Brian Daboll.
John Harbaugh Flamed for ‘Rah-Rah’ Giants Speech