Big Blue View
2026 is already shaping up to be the most exciting offseason in quite some time for the New York Giants.
Four years ago, in 2022, the Giants hired Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll to modernize the franchise as well as try to salvage Daniel Jones as the team’s franchise quarterback. It was an exciting time, full of new possibilities, but this year seems different.
This feels like the Giants are in the hunt for a “Once In A Decade” free agent. In a way, they are.
The Giants are in the middle of a wide-ranging search for their next head coach, having reached out to eight different former head coaches, as well as a pair (as of this writing) of highly respected assistants. But really, the Giants’ coaching search seems like it’s coming down to two men: Former Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and former Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski.
Those two bring experience and the promise of getting the Giants’ roster to play up to its talent level.
Harbaugh is, by far, the more experienced coach and has also been far more successful. His resume is basically unmatched by any other coaching candidate this year, and the Baltimore Ravens’ decision to fire him sent a seismic shock through the NFL landscape.
Stefanski, on the other hand, is younger and widely regarded as an offensive mind. His background is diverse, and he might be the man best suited to developing Jaxson Dart into the very best quarterback he could be.
Both men are highly sought after, and the Giants have pursued them with impressive urgency. They wasted no time in bringing Stefanski to New York for dinner and an interview, and were generally considered to be the team most heavily pursuing Harbaugh.
(At least until the Dolphins fired now-former head coach Mike McDaniel.)
So which one should the Giants hire, and can he execute a one-year turnaround and make the Giants competitive in 2026? We asked you that question in this week’s survey, and we also decided to offer our thoughts in a staff roundtable.
Before we even get to Giants fans in particular, a national poll among all fans on SB Nation ranked the Giants as the most attractive option among the teams with an opening.
Granted, this was conducted before the Baltimore Ravens fired John Harbaugh and the Miami Dolphins fired Mike McDaniel. For most candidates the Ravens are probably the top job, however the fact that they’re definitively out on Harbaugh has them flying under the radar. Likewise, the fact that the Giants are generally considered the favorite to land Harbaugh (particularly after the Dolphins hired Jon-Eric Sullivan as their next GM) positions the Giants as the drivers in this year’s coaching search.
It’s widely believed that the quality of their opening means that Giants will have their pick of the coaching candidates, and this week we asked you whether you believed John Harbaugh or former Browns coach Kevin...
