Having made the decision to move on from Brian Daboll last season, the Giants found themselves in a situation where longtime Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was suddenly available. New York was able to tempt Harbaugh to take on the challenge of revitalizing their once-proud franchise and he has since filled out his coaching staff over the past few weeks.
On offense, the Giants also brought in Matt Nagy as their new offensive coordinator with Mike Bloomgren as the new offensive line coach. They also brought in Greg Roman as an offensive assistant.
Let’s consider where these changes could have an impact on the team in 2026 and beyond at each position:
Quarterbacks
The Giants are locked into Jaxson Dart as their quarterback of the future, and it will be up to Harbaugh and his staff to maximize the youngster’s abilities. Nagy was a key mentor for Patrick Mahomes early on in his career, and New York would love Dart to develop in a similar fashion.
Keeping Dart healthy has to be an organizational priority and the challenge of balancing a young quarterback’s desire to make plays with his legs against not wanting to put him in harm's way is one Harbaugh is more than familiar with. Lamar Jackson has faced the same question throughout the past several years as he was at the helm for Harbaugh’s Ravens.
With Harbaugh’s preference for a disciplined approach, you might conclude that the gunslinging style of backup Jameis Winston would make him a bad fit. However, Harbaugh praised Winston at his introductory press conference, recalling his performance for the Browns against Baltimore in 2024, so perhaps Winston will stick around.
Offensive line
Harbaugh has typically coached teams with a run-first attitude on offense, especially when Roman was his offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2022. You can therefore expect them to want an offensive line that can dominate rather than one that tends to crumble whenever Andrew Thomas gets hurt.
The big prize in free agency, Tyler Linderbaum, wasn’t expected to hit the open market, but that was before Harbaugh left town. If the Giants could land a player like him, it would provide a big upgrade over the disappointing John Michael Schmitz. He wouldn’t come cheap, though.
Harbaugh has traditionally preferred bigger interior linemen, as there’s a school of thought that this is an effective way to ensure you don’t give up much immediate interior pressure. This could mean that last year’s starters would not be considered ideal scheme fits. Jon Runyan is 307 pounds and Greg Van Roten, who is out of contract anyway, is listed at 295.
Although Nagy operates a west coast system and such schemes are typically associated with smaller, more athletic linemen, that’s not necessarily the case with him, as the 321-pound Trey Smith has been his best guard over the past few years. However, Joe Thuney and Creed Humphrey have also been key contributors and are closer to Runyan’s size. If the Giants want some more size at the guard position, they could opt to re-sign Jermaine Eluemunor and move him inside, or target someone like Mekhi Becton, who played under Roman last year and could be a cap casualty.
Running backs
If the Giants will operate a run-based attack, the question becomes whether they feel Tyrone Tracy and Cam Skattebo are enough to carry the load. Tracy has been productive but has had issues with his consistency and Skattebo’s availability is up in the air after his rookie year was cut short by a serious leg injury.
Baltimore trading for Derrick Henry in 2024 had further enhanced a formidable running game, which had also used a second-round pick on JK Dobbins in 2020. Could Harbaugh look to invest further assets into the position for the Giants this offseason?
Pass catchers
During Harbaugh’s time in Baltimore, the team famously never had a Pro Bowl wide receiver until the past two seasons, when Zay Flowers became the first (not including return specialists). This perhaps underlines a reluctance on Harbaugh’s part to invest in big-money receivers and a failure in developing several other late-first-round talents (Breshad Perriman, Rashod Bateman).
One major asset that he will inherit on his arrival with the Giants is stud wide receiver Malik Nabers, who is potentially a pass-catching threat the likes of which Harbaugh has never coached at the NFL level. It will be interesting to see how Harbaugh’s offensive gameplans differ from his Ravens days, as the Giants will no doubt seek to optimize Nabers’ abilities once he returns from his knee injury.
In the longer term, it could get interesting when Nabers is eligible for an extension. Harbaugh preaches discipline, and Nabers has courted controversy at times with off-field comments and body language. He might have some maturing to do if he’s to convince Harbaugh to break from convention and make a big financial commitment to a pass catcher.
If the Giants are to add depth and can’t re-sign Wan’Dale Robinson, would they take a chance on someone like the recently released Tyreek Hill, who has had success with Nagy in the past?
While the Ravens never really had a player like Nabers, heavy tight end usage is something Roman’s teams always featured, so you can probably expect more of this from the Giants in 2026 and beyond. The Giants don’t have much depth at this position, especially with Daniel Bellinger out of contract, but free agent Isaiah Likely could complement Theo Johnson well if Harbaugh wants to seek a reunion with another of his former charges.