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By Tyler Erzberger
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John Harbaugh is the new head coach of the New York Giants, but he almost wasn't.
Why?
There was one special clause that almost derailed the entire deal.
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When it was first announced that Harbaugh was signing on as the new coach of the Giants following a full-day interview at the team's facilities, there was pandemonium from the New York faithful who believed the Super Bowl-winning head coach could do the same with their young core.
Yet, as the reports came through, there was no official announcement. The morning after the nighttime news bombshell, it started to spread that Harbaugh hadn't officially signed with the Giants yet, and there were still contract issues to work out before he could sign.
Finally, the two sides reached an agreement, and Harbaugh will serve as the mentor to Jaxson Dart, Cam Skattebo, and the rest of the bright-eyed talent on the Giants roster.
The Athletic's Ian O'Connor went inside the deal-making between the longtime NFL head coach and the Giants, revealing the clause that held everything up.
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Harbaugh wanted it in writing that he would report to the team's owner, John Mara, rather than to general manager Joe Schoen.
While on the surface that feels like a distrust of Schoen, O'Connor says that it wasn't a slight at the Giants GM, but more about Harbaugh wanting a top-down say in how the team functions with him in charge as coach.
"This wasn’t about Schoen," O'Connor wrote. "The coach definitely feels he can work with the GM. Harbaugh wanted the ability to impact the entire operation, from security to training to analytics to media relations to staff size to assistant salaries to relocation expenses to you name it. And yes, in the unlikely event there’s a stalemate on draft day between Harbaugh and Schoen, there’s no longer any question who will prevail."
Schoen has one year left on his contract and will need a contract extension if he wants to stay with the Giants organization after the 2026 season.
Harbaugh signed a five-year deal and will now get to work prepping for the upcoming offseason and April's NFL Draft, where the Giants have the fifth pick and the luxury of feeling confident about their future at quarterback.
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