During a press event on Tuesday, Chris Mara represented the Giants’ ownership, shedding light on his increasingly significant role within the organization as his brother, co-owner John Mara, contends with cancer.
“I’m just helping him anyway I can,” Chris Mara said of how he has assisted John recently. “He’s here every day pretty much. We talk all the time. No one has a better idea about the league than him. I’ve learned a lot from it, and I’ve kind of taken the reins when he’s not able to.”
This period marks a challenging chapter for the Mara family.
John Mara was present at the press conference introducing John Harbaugh and took the opportunity to engage warmly with attending players, including backup quarterback Jameis Winston and members of the interior offensive line. Co-owner Steve Tisch also attended the event.
Chris Mara, bearing the title of senior player personnel executive and board director, was seated prominently between John Mara and Steve Tisch in the front row, asserting his role as the spokesperson for the Giants’ ownership at the moment.
Tim McDonnell, the director of player personnel, was positioned in the third row, while Jonathan Tisch, the team’s treasurer, sat opposite his brother Steve in the front row.
Chris Mara stated that taking on a larger role during the pursuit of Harbaugh “felt quite natural” and was “an excellent learning experience.” He also mentioned that when the Baltimore Ravens released Harbaugh, he was instrumental in taking the next steps for the Giants.
“We discussed it as a group, as an ownership and as an organization, and I decided that it was time to act on it,” Chris Mara said. “And Friday night before the [Wild Card] playoff games started, I talked to John and Steve and said, ‘I’m driving to Baltimore tomorrow. I’m gonna talk to John.’”
Two-time Giants Super Bowl winning head coach Tom Coughlin set up the first meeting between Chris Mara and Harbaugh at the coach’s house in Maryland.
Coughlin told Mara to “get your ass down there.” And the former Giants coach stayed on Chris Mara’s case until the Giants finalized the contract.
“He yelled at me 15 times before it was done, and once we got it done he yelled at me again,” Chris Mara said.
John Mara, Chris said, was as high on Harbaugh as anyone. So Chris wanted to land the coach for his brother and for the franchise.
“My emotions were, ‘Let’s get it done,’” he said. “Because John [Mara], he was really high on Harbaugh. I knew that’s who he wanted.”
Chris Mara did say he thinks Harbaugh’s biggest challenge in New York compared to Baltimore will be dealing with the media.
“I’m looking at all of them right now,” Chris Mara said, pointing at the reporters surrounding him. “Two beat writers down there maybe. This is the challenging part, in my opinion.”
Fortunately for Harbaugh, then, he has an ally in Chris Mara who is stepping into that Big Apple spotlight with him.
