The New York Giants, by sheer location alone, are going to find themselves in the spotlight more often than not.
Toss in a Super Bowl-winning head coach, a controversial draft, and a polarizing quarterback … and you can imagine the offseason has been pretty buzzy for former Baltimore Ravens head coach and brand-new Giants head coach John Harbaugh.
Beyond all of those headlines — superficial stuff — there are more tangible issues with the Giants that led Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox to put the Giants and Harbaugh on his list of the “NFL’s Biggest Losers” from OTAs.
“In general, New York has plenty of reasons to feel optimistic,” Knox wrote. “However, that doesn’t mean the Giants can be pleased with how their OTAs unfolded. The worst development involved defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris, who suffered a season-ending Achilles tear. Robertson-Harris started all 17 games for New York in 2025, and following the Dexter Lawrence trade, the Giants find themselves without last year’s top two frontline defenders. And while running back Cam Skattebo (ankle) was healthy enough to be a partial participant in OTAs, star receiver Malik Nabers appears to be a long way from returning … The Giants could still be in store for a bounce-back season under Harbaugh, but they’re certainly not where they’d prefer to be health-wise.”
Harbaugh was hired by the Giants shortly after the Ravens fired him after 18 seasons — a run that ended with an 8-9 record and missing the playoffs in 2025.
Ravens Replaced Harbaugh With Former Assistant
Rookie Ravens head coach Jesse Minter was a defensive assistant coach for the Ravens under Harbaugh from 2017 to 2020 before going to work for his brother, Jim Harbaugh, 1st as defensive coordinator at Michigan in their national championship-winning season in 2023, then the last 2 years as the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers.
“This week I was told that Jesse Minter is a ‘star in the making’ and that ‘he’s more than ready to be a head coach,’ ” The Athletic’s James Palmer wrote on his official X account before Minter was hired by the Ravens in January. “This fits really well for an organization that is searching for its fourth head coach in its 30-year history.”
Minter Top Candidate Among Coordinators
While John Harbaugh immediately became the No. 1 head coaching candidate after he was fired by the Ravens, Minter was the top candidate among NFL coordinators/ potential first-time head coaches.
“Minter is the league’s most exciting young defensive coordinator, and it’s possible he fields calls from every team with a head coaching vacancy this winter,” The Ringer’s Steven Ruiz and Diante Lee wrote in their NFL head coach candidate rankings. “… Like Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald, Minter got his biggest break in the NFL with John Harbaugh and the Ravens.”
Macdonald is another former Ravens assistant — and the coach Ravens fans look at as “the one who got away” after he shocked the NFL by leading the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl win following the 2025 season.
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