Before the New York Giants officially introduced John Harbaugh as their new head coach earlier this week, a report revealed that Giants icons Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin had reached out to the former Baltimore Ravens coach.
During a recent appearance on the CNBC Sport videocast, Manning suggested he had somebody like Harbaugh in mind for the job almost immediately after the Giants fired Brian Daboll in November.
Eli Manning always wanted a CEO as next Giants head coach
“I’ve talked with ownership and (Giants co-owner) John Mara, kind of during the season, when I knew they would be in search of a new coach, told them my thoughts on the type of coach that they needed,” Manning explained, per Tom Rock of Newsday. “Someone that had been a head coach before and understands what it’s like to deal with the media and what it’s like to kind of be the same person, year in, year out, day in, day out. Just really be a CEO of not just the team but the whole organization, the whole building, and hold everybody to a higher standard and accountability. I said, ‘The problem is I don’t know if that person exists and if that coach is going to be available.’ They don’t come up that often. And then you see the news about John Harbaugh, and it’s exactly the coach and the person that I believe we needed.'”
Harbaugh clearly checks all of Manning’s boxes. The 63-year-old guided the Ravens to a single Super Bowl title from 2008 through this season, and he accumulated a 13-11 playoff record during his tenure.
“[Giants ownership] responded quickly, and I think they recognized that as well, just because of the person that he is, first off, and the success he’s had as a head coach. I’m so, so excited for the organization and getting back on track,” Manning continued.
Giants senior player personnel executive Chris Mara, John Mara’s younger brother, has been credited for getting the hiring of Harbaugh over the goal line. As Dan Salomone of the Giants’ website pointed out, Coughlin told Chris Mara to “get your a– down there” for a chat with Harbaugh once the Ravens parted ways with the coach earlier this month.
Eli Manning explains why players should want to join the Giants
Either intentionally or unintentionally, Manning also shared why players should want to sign with the Giants and play under Harbaugh.
“There’s no owners that are more committed to building a winning team and a winning franchise, and they want to win championships,” Manning added about the Giants. “The Mara and the Tisch families, they’ll do anything for the players, the coaches, if they believe it’s going to help us win, build a winning team and a winning culture. They deserve to get back to winning games. They want this. The fans want it. And I think John Harbaugh is going to get us back to that situation.”
Manning also said he is “always going to be helpful and be there for the Giants.” It sounds like he should have an assist attached to his career resume regarding the Giants’ landing of Harbaugh.