John Harbaugh’s job of building the New York Giants coaching staff is underway, and unsurprisingly he is targeting some people he knows well.
The Giants have requested an interview with Willie Taggart for their vacant offensive-coordinator role, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.
Taggart previously coached under Harbaugh with the Baltimore Ravens as their running-backs coach for three seasons. He was also promoted to assistant head coach in 2025.
The Giants, of course, fired both offensive-minded head coach Brian Daboll on Nov. 10 and are unlikely to retain former offensive coordinator and interim head coach Mike Kafka for the role in 2026.
Under Kafka, New York finished 17th in the NFL in points per game (22.4) and 13th in yards per game (333.5), led by NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year finalist Jaxson Dart.
Willie Taggart Was A College Football Head Coach Who Has Coached With The Harbaughs For Decades
Taggart’s tenure under Harbaugh was his first foray into the NFL game, since he had spent 25 years coaching offense at the college-football level.
After a standout career at Western Kentucky — he had his No. 1 jersey retired in Bowling Green — he became an assistant coach at his alma mater under John’s dad Jack Harbaugh, who was the head coach at the time.
After eight years there, he went to Stanford with John’s brother Jim Harbaugh, who was the head coach in Palo Alto. From there, Taggart went back to Western Kentucky, starting a 13-year run of head coaching gigs that also landed him at South Florida, Oregon, Florida State and Florida Atlantic.
Taggart has had great running backs and/or running quarterbacks at every stop he’s been, and that was no exception in Baltimore. The Ravens led the NFL in rushing in two of his three seasons there and finished second in rushing behind only the Buffalo Bills in 2025.
The Giants ranked fifth in the NFL in rushing this season, which was a consequence of adding running back Cam Skattebo and run-heavy quarterback Jaxson Dart. Those two could be what Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson were to the Ravens offense if Taggart ends up getting the Giants OC role.
The Giants Are Expected To Interview Other Potential Offensive Coordinators
Taggart will turn 50 in August, has a 71-80 college-coaching record and has never been an offensive coordinator at any level before.
Giants fans surely were hoping for a brighter, younger offensive mind when Harbaugh took over, especially due to his CEO style of coaching that centers around attracting smart future head coaches as his coordinators.
After all, Marc Trestman, Gary Kubiak, Jim Caldwell and Cam Cameron are all former offensive coordinators under Harbaugh that became NFL coaches.
Still, Harbaugh’s likely preferred candidate is still his former OC in Baltimore, Todd Monken. But he is in consideration for the Cleveland Browns head coach position.
So Taggart may not be the first choice of Giants fans, especially those that are either fans or alums of Florida State. But he is only the first candidate the organization reached out to for the role.
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