The New York Giants are reportedly incensed with the Atlanta Falcons following their announcement of an interview with John Harbaugh.
Earlier this week, news surfaced that Harbaugh, recently let go by the Ravens, was on the brink of signing an impressive five-year, nine-figure deal with the Giants.
As Giants supporters eagerly anticipated confirmation of this deal, the Falcons stirred the pot on Monday by revealing they too had spoken with Harbaugh.
Subsequent reports clarified that this was merely an explanatory phone conversation with the former Ravens coach, a call he had with several other teams as well.
Fortunately for the Giants, this did not appear to disrupt their negotiations, as Harbaugh later told ESPN on Saturday that he had finalized an agreement with the team.
Nonetheless, the Falcons’ decision to exaggerate their engagement with Harbaugh has reportedly left a sour taste in the mouths of those at East Rutherford, according to The Athletic.
John Harbaugh has signed a lucrative five-year contract with the New York Giants
The Giants were furious with the Atlanta Falcons after they ‘overplayed’ claims that they had also interviewed Harbaugh this week (Pictured: Falcons owner Arthur Blank)
John Harbaugh (center) and GM Joe Schoen negotiated his Giants deal at a restaurant in New Jersey on Wednesday night
Ian O’Connor, a reporter for the outlet, revealed: ‘This was the day I realized the Giants would not be denied on John Harbaugh.
‘They were not happy with the Falcons overplaying a phoner with Harbaugh as an official interview (they weren’t alone) and Chris Mara went on the record with this.’
He also claimed that Giants owner Mara revealed that Harbaugh had an informal lunch at Harbaugh’s house on Sunday before his formal interview later in the week.
In another post on X later in the week, O’Connor also revealed: ‘My understanding is John Harbaugh and Chris Mara are forming a pretty good bond since their Sunday lunch & meeting at Harbaugh’s house.
‘Chris remains confident this gets done. Still a chance the Giants announce in the coming hours tonight, but no need for Harbaugh to rush it’.
The deal moved quickly and on Saturday afternoon, Harbaugh confirmed to ESPN that he had reached an agreement with the Giants to become their new head coach.
He told the outlet: ‘This is the New York Giants. I’m proud and honored to the head coach of this historic franchise, and especially excited to work with the Mara and Tisch families.
‘But most of all, I can’t wait to get started with the great players on this football team to see what we can accomplish together.
‘I know how great our fans are. I’ve seen them close up enough. We are going to build a team that’s going to play a brand of football that you will be proud of’.
On Saturday, Harbaugh said: ‘This is the New York Giants. I’m proud and honored to the head coach of this historic franchise’
New York has been without a permanent head coach since Brian Daboll’s firing in November
The 63-year-old interviewed in person with the Giants on Wednesday, spending hours at the team facility in East Rutherford, New Jersey. He was flown in on the private jet of part-owner Steve Tisch.
Then he was treated to a delicious dinner at Elia, a restaurant the Giants have used a number of times to get major deals over the line, where general manager Joe Schoen and owner Mara made their final pitch to the Super Bowl winner.
‘When Joe walked in, you knew the deal was going to go down,’ owner Tim Salouros told The New York Post.
‘It was the first time that they called me to tell me the timing. They told me he had to be on a flight at 7:30. Before coach left, he said, ‘I’ll be back’.’
A picture emerged on Elia’s Instagram account on Thursday morning in the hours after news broke that a deal with Harbaugh was imminent.
They captioned the post: ‘Congratulations to John Harbaugh on becoming the new Head Coach of the New York Giants. Wishing you nothing but success in this next chapter. Thank you to the entire New York Giants organization for always including us as part of the process — it truly means a lot.’
The Super Bowl-winning former coach of the Ravens was believed to be New York’s top candidate in the search for Brian Daboll’s full-time successor.
Fired by the Ravens after missing the playoffs on a missed field goal attempt at the buzzer in the season finale, Harbaugh is on track to pick the Giants over other possible landing spots, including Tennessee and Atlanta.
The Ravens made the playoffs 12 times during 18 seasons with Harbaugh in charge and won the Super Bowl in the 2012 season, a year after the Giants’ most recent championship.
