What the Giants’ perfect 2025 offseason looks like after hiring John Harbaugh

The New York Giants landed their top choice to lead the franchise, as CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones reports that John Harbaugh has agreed to become the team’s next head coach.

The move makes sense for the Giants. Harbaugh brings instant credibility and stability after 18 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens from 2008 to 2025 in which he became their franchise’s winningest coach (180 wins) and won Super Bowl XLVII to conclude the 2012 season. New York desperately needed a floor raiser like Harbaugh after going 4-13 in 2025 to clinch the eighth campaign with double-digit losses in the last nine years. Only the New York Jets (49-116) have been worse than the Giants (55-109-1) since 2016. 

However, the Giants have plenty of potential going forward. They possess the fifth overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, a potential, young franchise quarterback in Jaxson Dart, a fun bruising running back in Cam Skattebo, a Pro Bowl No. 1 wide receiver in Malik Nabers, 2022 second team All-Pro left tackle Andrew Thomas and perhaps the most talented defensive line in the NFL with Pro Bowl edge rusher Brian Burns, Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and a couple of top-five pick edge rushers in Kayvon Thibodeaux and Abdul Carter.

So what’s next on the Giants’ to-do list after securing Harbaugh’s services? Let’s run through what a perfect 2025 offseason plan could look like for New York.

Coordinator candidates

For as successful as Harbaugh’s Ravens were, Baltimore was the NFL’s fourth-winningest team across the last 18 seasons; he’s not a huge X’s and O’s guy. His NFL coordinator experience comes in the special teams department, so his hires at both the offensive and defensive coordinator spots will be critical. 

One of those hires has reportedly already been made, with NFL Media reporting that Todd Monken, the Ravens’ offensive coordinator from 2023 to 2025, will be reuniting with Harbaugh as his OC with the Giants. The Ravens were the NFL’s No. 3 scoring offense (27.9 points per game), No. 2 total offense (375.8 total yards per game) and also ranked in the top five in the advanced metrics — No. 4 in expected points added (EPA) per play (0.08), No. 5 in EPA per dropback (0.13) and No. 1 in EPA per rush (0.06). Of course, it helps to have multi-time NFL MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson and Derrick “King” Henry at running back. 

Monken will be walking into a talented offensive nucleus, with Dart being the second rookie quarterback in NFL history to have at least 15 passing touchdowns (15) and eight rushing touchdowns (nine), joining Cam Newton in 2011. Skattebo was one of five players with at least 400 yards rushing (410) and at least 200 yards receiving (207) through Week 8 of 2025 before his season-ending ankle injury. The others were a who’s who of the running back position: De’Von Achane, Christian McCaffrey, Bijan Robinson and Jonathan Taylor. Nabers earned a Pro Bowl selection as a rookie, and his 127 career catches in his first 19 games, before the torn ACL, are the second-most in a player’s first 19 games in NFL history behind only Odell Beckham Jr.’s 133. 

Harbaugh’s hire for defensive coordinator will be interesting. The Ravens’ defense regressed mightily in 2025 under Zach Orr, ranking 18th in scoring (23.4 points per game allowed) after being No. 1 (16.5 points per game) just a couple of seasons ago under now-Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald. Someone like current Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde could be interesting. He isn’t Seattle’s defensive play caller since Macdonald is, which would make him taking the Giants job a promotion. Durde was the Dallas CowboysCowboys’ defensive line coach under Dan Quinn from 2021 to 2023, so he had a hand in developing Micah Parsons into the All-Pro he is today. 

The offensive line coaching hire will also be pivotal, given that the Giants’ offensive line, outside of Thomas, has been a weak spot for years. Someone like Bill Callahan, one of the league’s top offensive line whisperers, could make a lot of sense. 

Cornerback market 

The cornerback position opposite Paulson Adebo will be a key area to address, with Cor’Dale Flott set to hit free agency and former first-round pick Deonte Banks not panning out. That position is especially significant in the NFC East with the Philadelphia Eagles having A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, the Dallas Cowboys having CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens and the Washington Commanders having Terry McLaurin. 

Fortunately for the Giants, cornerback is one of the most talent-rich positions in this offseason’s free agency class. Tariq Woolen, Jaylen Watson, Alontae Taylor, Jamel Dean and Nahshon Wright will all be up for grabs. Prioritizing Flott makes sense, but if he departs for a new home, there are plenty of options. 

Other team needs 

Re-signing 31-year-old right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor would also make sense after he provided steady play, allowing just four sacks and 17 quarterback pressures this season. The interior line spots still need work, but those may need to be addressed in the draft. Linebacker could be a position the Giants retool at as well, with the ability to save $9 million in cap space by releasing Bobby Okereke this offseason. 

Draft plan

The Giants could very well give Nabers a bona fide running mate at receiver by selecting either Ohio State’s Carnell Tate or Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson fifth overall. When looking around the division and seeing the offensive success of Dak Prescott while throwing to both CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, giving Dart a young one-two punch at receiver, he could grow into, could make all the sense in the world, while then utilizing the second-round pick on the offensive line.  

Realistic turnaround timeline

After the 2025 NFL postseason set a record with five teams that had 11-plus losses the year prior — the New England Patriots, Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears, Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers — there will be Giants fans who think a playoff berth in 2026 is achievable. The NFC East will be a tough hill to climb, with the Eagles still full of talent and the Cowboys likely a playoff team if they can avoid being the NFL’s worst scoring defense, as they were in 2025. 

The Patriots made the jump from worst to first after spending an NFL record $364.4 million in free agency last offseason to reinforce their roster around Drake Maye. The Giants don’t have that type of cap space, but with their talent on both sides of the ball, a jump to eight or nine wins and being a fringe wild card team isn’t out of the question for 2026. The turnaround will obviously hinge on Dart’s development and if New York can actually get the offensive line right under Harbaugh. 

It will be interesting to see whether Harbaugh’s proclivity for late-game collapses follows him to New York, because the difference in one-score games can make or break a team’s record. In 2025, the Giants were 1-6 in one-score games while Harbaugh’s Ravens were just about as bad at 1-4. Baltimore blew 26 leads of 10 or more points under Harbaugh from 2008 to 2025, the most in the NFL. Twelve of those came in the last five seasons, which is five more than any other team in the league in that span. 

Harbaugh will bring coaching competence and stability, but time will tell whether that will be enough to elevate the Giants back to regular playoff participants.