Big Blue View
As training camp approaches, the excitement and anticipation among Giants fans is almost palpable with the John Harbaugh Giants era about to begin. Now is a good time to ask: What would a successful Harbaugh tenure look like, and how likely is it to happen?
I specifically chose the featured image of Harbaugh above because it shows him wearing a New York Knicks cap after their thrilling (and I mean thrilling, I don’t know how much more exciting you can get than those NBA Finals games) run to the NBA Championship. We all agree, I’m sure, on the answer to my question above: We want Harbaugh to eventually lead the Giants to their next Super Bowl Championship.
It’s a tall order. Not only because of the Giants’ dismal history since their last Super Bowl run, but because of league history. Here is a list of all the NFL head coaches who have won Super Bowls with two different teams:
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Anyone? Anyone?
That’s right. It’s never been done before. There are seven head coaches who have taken two different franchises to multiple Super Bowls:
None of them won it all at both stops, however. This is obviously relevant to the Giants’ current situation because Harbaugh got a ring in his fifth season in Baltimore. In other sports we don’t see the same thing. For example, four baseball managers have won World Series with two different teams (Bucky Harris, Bill McKechnie, Sparky Anderson, Tony LaRussa), and Bruce Bochy has won it all with three different franchises. It’s not clear whether it’s just luck or whether it’s uniquely difficult for NFL teams for some reason.
What got me thinking about this is the great piece Ed published on his interview with Harbaugh last week. SB Nation’s Ravens site, Baltimore Beatdown, republished the piece on their site. This attracted some Ravens fans to comment on the piece and engaged many of you in a spirited discussion about Harbaugh’s bona fides as an NFL head coach. For someone who won a Super Bowl, got his team to the playoffs 11 other times, and only had a losing record three times in an 18-year tenure, it may be a surprise that many Ravens’ fans reactions were of the “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out” variety. Here are a couple. (Aside: Can’t beat SB Nation sites for amusing screen names.)
In some sense, Harbaugh can be seen as the safe choice for head coach, given his long experience and the fact that he has one ring (at the expense of brother Jim, who has never won a Super Bowl). He probably sets a floor for competence that the Giants haven’t had since the Coughlin days. The opposing point of...
