NFL

With 9 NFL openings, John Harbaugh and Jaxson Dart each came close to finding the best possible partner.

ballervisions 2026年1月16日

More than a year ago, on Jan. 6, 2025, New England Patriots team owner Robert Kraft spoke to reporters.

Less than a year after promoting Jerod Mayo as coach, Kraft was facing another coaching search. The Patriots had a promising rookie quarterback in Drake Maye and a host of talented players. But that combination had only produced four wins, and Kraft believed there was more to unlock.

“I don’t like to lose,” he said. “I don’t like losing the way we lost, things didn’t go the way we would have liked.

“I have to go out and look for a coach who can bring us back to the play-offs and hopefully we will win.”

So the Patriots kept the general manager who got their quarterback and cashed in on a storied franchise with its biggest roster question seemingly answered.

Enter former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, who once played for the Patriots. A year later, the Patriots prepared for their second home playoff game to end Vrabel’s first season.

The conversion speed is amazing. So is the rapid change in Patriots culture. The NFL took notice — and now, one of the nine teams that has since lost its head coach is following a similar plan that hopes for similar results.

A promising first-round quarterback on a rookie contract wins four games. The general manager who acquired the quarterback lives in the area. Take out the trainer. The club is in pursuit of a coach who has established himself with a track record of success.

Hello, New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh.

John Harbaugh has a chance to turn things around quickly with the Giants, who already have a promising young QB, Jaxson Dart, in place.

(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / REUTERS)

When the Baltimore Ravens fired their 18-year Super Bowl-winning coach, Harbaugh quickly became the most attractive prospect on the market. Baltimore, likewise, rose to the top of the most attractive spots – but the Giants only dropped one spot, to second place and therefore the first of the teams Harbaugh would consider.

The marquee franchise in the league’s biggest market drafted Jaxson Dart 25th overall last spring. In his 14 games (12 starts) this season, Dart has completed 63.7% of his passes for 2,272 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions while rushing for another 489 yards and nine scores.

The Darts have attracted a coach who specializes in game-planning with a dual-threat quarterback in Lamar Jackson. The Ole Miss product reportedly met with Harbaugh during his visit on Wednesday.

The tenor of the ensuing discussions seemed to reflect what league sources believed: Harbaugh and Dart were each the best partner the other could make this cycle. The much-anticipated high-powered wedding baffles their opponents.

“There’s something to be said for guys who have proven themselves,” one franchise insider said of Harbaugh. “There are many people who hire in this department [coaches] just because they call good games. Being a head coach is more than calling games.

“I think the way the Giants are going is the right way.”

That’s what the Giants gave Harbaugh

At Giants general manager Joe Schoen’s end-of-season news conference, he touted “leadership” as the top quality he’ll look for in the Giants’ next coach. Followed by football intelligence, player development and the program at quarterback.

Harbaugh stepped up, checking these boxes.

Ravens teammates and rival league sources view Harbaugh’s enthusiasm as worthy of a team with young players to be involved. Harbaugh’s culture-building, some say, could instill discipline that other members of the roster have lacked in recent years. His message, some believe, may be louder in the new building than in the ways he talked them through 293 regular season games (180 wins) and 12 playoff berths.

Harbaugh led the Ravens to a Super Bowl title following the 2012 season. Since then he has won four of 11 postseason contests.

The Giants have a young core to build around in Dart, 2025 rookie running back Cam Skattebo and 2024 first-round draft pick Malik Nabers on offense. Abdul Carter, the New York runner selected third overall in 2025, was consolidated into a successful runner at the end of the year. Dart and Carter also took on an increasing role of leadership as the season progressed.

“We will not accept what happened this year to happen again,” said Dart in the last week of the season. “I am happy about the season that will start to grow the culture and help put my hand in it, but it will upset me and other people that we will watch other teams play. [in the playoffs].”

Jan 4, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants linebacker Jaxson Dart (6) runs out of bounds as Dallas Cowboys linebacker Shemar James (50) defends during the second quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Photos by Vincent Carchietta-Imagn — Jaxson Dart’s dual-threat skills have caught the eye of many head coaches. (Photos by Vincent Carchietta-Imagn)

(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / REUTERS)

Dart said he will lead going forward with “great expectations” from his teammates; said Carter shared the same message when the team met for the last game.

“We have that power and vision,” said Dart, “that’s the only way we can go.”

The attitude is not Harbaugh’s. The longtime Ravens coach and former special teams coordinator leads with an emphasis on growth and development, moments that resonated with his leadership of Baltimore in his final game as the Ravens coach. Ravens kicker Tyler Loop missed the game-winning field goal that decided the AFC North; Harbaugh comforted Loop and reassured him as the two walked through the tunnel of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ stadium minutes after what would be Harbaugh’s final game as Ravens coach.

The Giants’ talent pool is generating mixed responses from opponents. Some league sources whose clubs faced the Giants this season viewed New York’s 2025 roster as a roster of talented individuals instead of a team capable of marshaling those talents collectively for greater gains. Nabers’ season-ending ACL tear in Dart’s debut hurt the offense’s strength, as did Skattebo’s October tibia fracture, a torn deltoid ligament and a sprained right ankle.

But their return could help improve the offense’s explosiveness in Dart’s second year. And defensively, the Giants’ front boasts Carter, Dexter Lawrence II, Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux.

The Giants quarterback praised the defensive line as an area where they “did a good job.” The criticism of Lawrence slowing down, the opposition said, may speak volumes for the increased speed of the linemen around him.

Dart’s continued development will be key to Harbaugh’s success with the Giants. That opportunity also helped New York catch big fish.

“There are many who could be great coaches,” said Schoen Jan. 6, “they are not happy with the opportunity here because of Jaxson Dart.”

What coach, scheme will Harbaugh choose for Dart?

It’s too soon to settle the coordinator’s expectations with eight head coaching roles in flux even after Harbaugh’s talks move away from the question of when.

But there is an expectation that Harbaugh will bring his latest Baltimore coordinator, Todd Monken, to New York if Monken doesn’t get the head coaching job.

The Cleveland Browns interviewed Monken, who coordinated their offense in 2019, for the Browns’ top role last Saturday.

What would Monken’s case look like in New York?

“It’s going to be different,” one AFC assistant who dealt with the Ravens during Monken’s tenure told Yahoo Sports. “He got into a situation with Lamar Jackson once [Derrick] Henry. Those are two Hall of Fame players … so it’s going to be different. “

However, the AFC assistant believed that Monken’s philosophies could cope with Dart’s skill set.

“I think he’s doing a great job marrying the game,” the assistant said. “Limited case.”

One AFC official described Monken as “a natural passer-caller” but “adjusted to different guys and explosive.”

Developing Dart into an explosive but sloppy quarterback will be key after a rookie year that included five concussion tests, per ESPN, and two games missed due to concussions.

Take care of that risk-reward analysis, and the Giants have a chance to follow in the footsteps of the Patriots — who beat the Los Angeles Chargers in last weekend’s wild-card round and host the Houston Texans in this week’s divisional round.

In his second season, Maye is among the MVP betting favorites. Vrabel, in his first year at the Patriots helm, is among the favorites for Coach of the Year.

“There’s definitely an opportunity for you to look at those franchises and how they fit into the fast-paced transition,” Schoen said of the Patriots’ and Chicago Bears’ 2025 success. “In an ideal world, yes, it would be so.

“That would be the goal. That would be great.”