After Years Of Losing, John Harbaugh’s Giants Arrival Has Been A Breath of Fresh Air

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Even John Harbaugh can’t say for sure whether the Giants are going to be good this season after 12 mostly miserable years in New York. But one thing their new coach is very clear about is that they are going to be prepared.

That’s a big reason why his practices are so long — 2.5 hours on Monday in 90-degree heat and stifling humidity, in what was the team’s first practice after their 10-day camp-opening trip to West Virginia. Harbaugh’s practices are crisp, too. There isn’t a lot of standing around, and there is a purpose to every drill they do from the moment they hit the field.

That is … different than what it was under Brian Daboll … and Joe Judge … and Pat Shurmur … and, to an extent, even Tom Coughlin, who drilled his players hard but not often for as long. Still, the early reviews from the players have been nothing but positive. Or, at the very least, they’re not complaining. There’s been too much losing around here for too long for anyone to be upset about an accomplished coach who wants to push them.

And Harbaugh has been thrilled to learn that these Giants are ready to work.

“I see it, in this organization and this team, with the players especially,” Harbaugh told me shortly after practice. “These players are determined to do what is required to become good enough, to earn the right to have a chance to win a football game.

“I feel like I see that. I see it every day in what they do and how they carry themselves and how hard they work. And I know they look back and they say, ‘Man, we’re getting better. We see it.'”

That alone could go a long way towards changing the culture of an organization that has had double-digit losses 10 times in the last 12 years, including the 4-13 season last year that got Daboll fired and led the Giants to lure Harbaugh with a five-year, $100 million deal. How many wins it translates to, though, will probably be determined by the growth of second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart and the health of key players like receiver Malik Nabers and running back Cam Skattebo. 

But the big expectation is that no matter what happens, no matter who is on the field, Harbaugh — who was fired after 18 seasons in Baltimore despite a 180-113 record, a Super Bowl championship, and 12 trips to the playoffs — will have this team ready to be way more competitive than they’ve been in the recent past. And if that ramps up the expectations and puts more pressure on the head coach, that’s OK. He understands it.

“Heck yeah,” he told me. “People want to win.”

• Harbaugh, a former special teams coach, spent a lot of time on special teams during the 2.5 hours, especially at the beginning. It would be a shock if the Giants weren’t markedly improved in that area.
• It’s hard to tell from one practice, but don’t expect the Giants to shy away from QB Jaxson Dart’s running just because he suffered a concussion and was evaluated for several other hits to the head as a rookie. That figures to be a huge part of their offense. In fact, Harbaugh is likely to lean heavily on running with Dart, Skattebo and running back Tyrone Tracy. The run game could have an extra punch after the Giants signed 300-pound, six-time Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard.
• Dart had his right ankle stepped on early in practice and had a noticeable limp for a while, but kept playing. He also made the play of the day when he ran on a third down and not only picked up the first down, but slid in bounds before taking a hit. That slide — something he rarely did last season — drew huge cheers from his teammates and coaches.

Nabers is recovering from a torn ACL and a torn meniscus in his right knee after surgery to repair the damage in October and another cleanup procedure in the spring. He did only individual drills on Monday, which was basically what he did during the Giants’ trip to West Virginia. The reports from there were generally good, but it’s clear the Giants are being cautious with him.

And they should be, because he’s the one elite talent they have in that spot. They’re deep at that position. Rookie Malachi Fields is both big (6-foot-4, 222) and fast. They have solid veterans in Darnell Mooney and Darius Slayton, a potentially good slot receiver in Calvin Austin, and a couple of long-shot veterans in JuJu Smith-Schuster and Odell Beckham. 

But Nabers is the difference-maker. He showed that as a rookie in 2024 when he caught 109 passes for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns in just 15 games. His second season ended in Week 4 — in the second quarter of Dart’s first NFL start. 

“We’ve been begging him to do that for a while now.”

— Giants edge rusher Brian Burns on why everyone cheered so loudly when quarterback Jaxson Dart finally slid along the sidelines.

Improved, But Maybe Not Good Enough To Contend

So much has changed about the Giants, it’s hard to get a real feel for how things will go in Harbaugh’s first season. There is no doubt they will be better. Their quarterback should be improved. They have more talent. They will be a much, much better-coached team. That should be good for another three to four wins, which could put them on the edge of playoff contention.

But will Nabers be at full strength and back to his old self early in the season? What about Skattebo, who has been practicing fully but still needs to test his knee in a game? If those two can pick up right where they left off, the Giants could be a surprise playoff contender if they stay healthy. If they don’t, their path is much more difficult.

My guess is it’ll be somewhere in the middle. Figure the Giants to win around six to eight games, depending on their health, but expect that they will improve as the season goes along. For this year, that might just mean more competitive football and even an important game or two in December. Then they can set themselves up nicely to be a real contender in 2027.

The New York Jets will be hosting the first of two joint practices with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Florham Park, New Jersey, on Tuesday morning. Bucs coach Todd Bowles will be making his return to the Jets’ suburban practice facility, where he ran the drills as their head coach from 2015-18.