The Giants get the first at-bat.
John Harbaugh will be in the building Wednesday to interview for the vacant head coach position. With the Titans and Falcons also in the mix, that the Giants get to lead off this high-stakes competition could be a significant development.
A source close to Harbaugh told The Post in recent days that the “don’t let him out of the building” scenario is not completely out of the question, as far as the team that gets the first formal interview with Harbaugh could conceivably make him an offer to secure his services and prevent him from looking elsewhere.
If that does not happen, Harbaugh is expected to meet with the Titans and Falcons in the coming days.
The Giants have been all-in on Harbaugh since Jan. 6, the day he was fired by the Ravens after 18 years with that organization. There has been no secret that Harbaugh is their first choice to replace Brian Daboll, who was fired 10 games into this past season, with the Giants sitting at 2-8 a season after they finished 3-14. Harbaugh was let go after the Ravens in their regular-season finale lost to the rival Steelers, eliminating the Ravens from the playoffs.
It is believed that the Giants are bringing Harbaugh to their team facility in East Rutherford, N.J. in style, with co-owner Steve Tisch’s private jet picking Harbaugh up in Baltimore. This would be in keeping in the full-court press the Giants put on and kept on for more than a week.
John Harbaugh AP
General manager Joe Schoen has been in frequent contact with Harbaugh and his camp. Co-owner John Mara has made a pitch. Chris Mara, the Giants’ senior personnel consultant, had lunch with Harbaugh in Baltimore and met with him at Harbaugh’s home. Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning spoke with Harbaugh about the Giants. So did Daboll, who was extremely complimentary about the entire Giants operation and is believed to have assured Harbaugh that he would have no problem working with Schoen, as Schoen believes in a collaborative approach.
Harbaugh, 63, was 180-113 in the regular season and 13-11 in the playoffs in his nearly two decades with the Ravens. He won a Super Bowl after the 2012 season, in his fifth year as a head coach. Harbaugh is a CEO type of leader, with a background as a special teams coordinator. Thus, who he hired as his offensive and defensive coordinators will be essential to his future success. The Giants want to secure Harbaugh as their head coach and the rest will fall into place.
It could take as much as $20 million a year to get Harbaugh. The Giants knew that going into this chase and financial considerations will not be an impediment in this negotiation.
