Can John Harbaugh’s training camp get NY Giants off to a good start?

Going all the way back to the final years of the Tom Coughlin era, the beginnings of NFL seasons have not been kind to the New York Giants.

Only twice since 2013 have the Giants gotten off to 2-0 starts. Not coincidentally, those were the only times in those 13 seasons that the team reached the playoffs. Giants seasons, or at least the idea of playing important games in them, have generally been over by the end of October. Sometimes, by the end of September.

Below, a look at how the Giants began (and ended) each of the last 13 seasons:

Tom Coughlin

2013 — 0-6 (7-9 finish)

2014 — 0-2 (6-10 finish)

2015 — 0-2 (6-10 finish)

Ben McAdoo

2016 — 2-0 (that extended to 10-4, then an 11-5 finish and a playoff berth)

2017 — 0-5 | 1-8 (3-13 finish | McAdoo, GM Jerry Reese fired with four games remaining and the Giants 2-10)

Pat Shurmur

2018 — 1-7 (5-11 finish)

2019 — 0-2 | 2-11 (4-12 finish)

Joe Judge

2020 — 0-5 | 1-7 (6-10 finish)

2021 — 1-5 (4-13 finish)

Brian Daboll

2022 — 6-1 (9-7-1 finish … wild-card round victory over Minnesota Vikings)

2023 — 1-5 (6-11 finish)

2024 — 1-3 | 2-13 (3-14 finish)

2025 — 0-3 | Daboll fired at 2-8 (4-13 finish)

Can John Harbaugh change that?

The 63-year-old Harbaugh, an old-school coach with a reputation for being demanding of players, is expected to put the Giants through a training camp more arduous than most have experienced as NFL players.

Asked during mandatory minicamp how taxing this summer’s training camp will be, Harbaugh played coy.

“Is there a rating scale for that? Give me the rating scale. What is the scale? Vince Lombardi being 10 and whatever, it won’t be that. It won’t be Lombardi-esque or anything like that,” Harbaugh said.

Harbaugh was asked if his camp would be an 8 next to Lombardi’s 10.

“I guess it will be an 8,” Harbaugh said.

By modern NFL standards, anything approaching that level would be considered grueling.

Harbaugh’s practices during rookie minicamp, OTAs, and mandatory minicamp, albeit unpadded ones limited by rules outlined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, hinted at what is to come:

• Draft picks took reps during team periods at the rookie minicamp, something that has not been the norm in recent seasons.
• Front-line players took the majority of reps during team periods in OTAs and minicamp, again a change from standard operating procedure in recent years. There were few reps for third-team players.
• The Giants did 9-on-7 run drills normally reserved for padded training camp practices. These were lower intensity than when done in pads, but the drill remained noteworthy.
• Practices went the full amount of time allowed by the CBA. The first two minicamp practices lasted the allotted 2½ hours.

Harbaugh believes in maximizing every minute of every day. This is what he said during his introductory press conference:...