Giants HC John Harbaugh Claims He Will Build a Team Focused on Beating the Eagles

John Harbaugh intends to build a Giants roster that's strong enough to outdo rivals, the Eagles, in the NFC.

Giants HC John Harbaugh Claims He Will Build a Team Focused on Beating the Eagles

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and Giants head coach John Harbaugh inside the circle (Image via IMAGO)

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John Harbaugh’s approach as the Giants’ head coach is straightforward: beat the Philadelphia Eagles. But there are also two other teams in the NFC East: the Cowboys and the Commanders. How do they stack up?

Harbaugh isn’t counting either team out. However, he’s fixated on the Eagles because they are the defending Super Bowl champions and went to the East in back-to-back seasons.

Philly captured the Lombardi Trophy in the 2024-25 season by beating Kansas City, just a few years after experiencing heartbreak against the very same team. However, the Eagles failed to retain their crown. The 49ers eliminated them in the wild-card round.

Shortly after, Kevin Patullo was fired from his offensive coordinator duties. Nick Sirianni survived even though he was on the chopping block.

The outcome of the 2025 campaign may hint at regression, but Harbaugh still views the Eagles as the Giants’ number one rivals heading into his first year in charge in the Big Apple.

You gotta build a team to beat the [Philadelphia] Eagles. Yeah, you gotta beat the Commanders, and you gotta beat the Cowboys, but the Eagles are the [defending Super Bowl] champs. So we have to build a team to beat the Eagles. And everything we do, every practice we have, every film session will be with that in mind.

John Harbaugh told Howard Eskin

Harbaugh is familiar with the inner workings of the Philly club. The Eagles appointed him as the special teams coach in 1998 and later served as defensive backs coach during Andy Reid‘s tenure. He left Philly in 2007 to coach the Ravens in Baltimore.

A former NFL coach believes the Giants are in great hands with John Harbaugh taking over as the new head coach

Harbaugh spent 17 years coaching the Ravens. In that time, he won several AFC North trophies, including the Super Bowl in 2012.

Giants HC John Harbaugh Claims He Will Build a Team Focused on Beating the Eagles
John Harbaugh (Image via IMAGO)

His stint came to an end after the Ravens missed the 2025 playoffs. The Giants quickly swooped in to make him their head coach.

Former Panthers and Commanders coach Ron Rivera believes that the Giants made the right choice by hiring Harbaugh.

I think John can make a huge impact. I really do. The biggest thing about Coach [John] Harbaugh is that he has a plan and an idea of how to do things. He knows how important that offensive coordinator is, so he’s interviewing people, looking forward to bringing in the kind [of] guy who will make the impact for [quarterback] Jaxson [Dart].

Rivera said while appearing on Good Morning Football

Search for an offensive coordinator goes on for the Giants

The Giants’ job intrigued Harbaugh because of Dart. Dart finished with a 4-8 record as the starter but still put up 2,272 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions, along with 487 rushing yards and 9 scores on the ground. During his inaugural press conference, Harbaugh highlighted that he’s eager to coach the Ole Miss graduate.

That being said, the Giants still need to hire a new offensive coordinator. Mike Kafka took care of the play-calling duties during the Brian Daboll era. After Daboll was fired, Kafka took over as acting head coach. Harbaugh didn’t make Kafka part of his college of coaches, and he opted to take a similar job in Detroit.

At first, Mike McDaniel was considered the top candidate, but the Chargers snagged him before anyone else had the chance. Harbaugh, on the other hand, wanted to bring in Todd Monken, who served as the Ravens’ offensive coordinator. This time, the Browns intervened. The Cleveland franchise hired Monken as its head coach.

The list of experienced coaches is slowly thinning out. That being said, there are a few interesting names still looking for a job. Among them is former Giants backup QB Davis Webb. Webb has been with the Denver team since 2023, starting as the quarterbacks coach before moving up to passing game coordinator.

Harbaugh needs to wave his magic wand. Webb understands the culture and should fit right in, assuming Sean Payton is willing to part with one of his biggest assets.

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