John Harbaugh has at least one early believer in his Giants agenda for 2026.
The newly minted head coach, who officially joined Big Blue on a five-year pact Saturday, wasted no time outlining his expectations.
“I think the Giants roster is strong and it’s our job to make it stronger,” Harbaugh told The Athletic’s Ian O’Connor. “We are going to compete for the playoffs and for championships. I expect and want to make the playoffs next year.”
Former Jets head coach Rex Ryan — who knows a thing or two about reaching the postseason in his first year in New York — believes a Harbaugh-led Giants team can meet those lofty goals.
Despite finishing 4–13 in a season that included the firing of Brian Daboll, Ryan said the combination of Harbaugh and the Giants’ current roster puts the franchise in a strong position.
“This team right here is so talented,” Ryan said on ESPN’s “Postseason NFL Countdown” Saturday.
“If you go in to build an organization, you want to have a franchise-type quarterback [Jaxson Dart]. We’ll see. I think they might have one right there. You want a franchise left tackle [Andrew Thomas] to protect that quarterback. Check that box. You want a franchise No. 1 receiver [Malik Nabers]. You can check that box.
“And by the way, you’ve got five guys who can absolutely rush the passer,” Ryan added, in reference to Giants defenders Darius Alexander, Brian Burns, Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeaux. “You put the right guy in that situation, they may go to No. 1 in the league in defense.
“So, to me, I think absolutely, this is a playoff team.”
Ryan can relate to postseason expectations, having led the Jets to the playoffs in his first season in 2009.
The longtime Ravens head coach was dismissed after 18 standout seasons in Baltimore, following another abrupt ending — a crushing loss to miss the playoffs in the final game of the regular season.
Big Blue immediately began its full-court press of Harbaugh, hosting him for his lone in-person interview before ultimately agreeing to terms to make the Super Bowl winner the franchise’s 21st head coach.
At 63, Harbaugh brings a proven winning pedigree to a franchise that Ryan expects to be further bolstered as he assembles his coaching staff.
Despite having no previous head-coaching experience at the time, Harbaugh led the Ravens to the playoffs in 2008 — his first year on the job — with rookie quarterback Joe Flacco.
Ryan, who pulled off the same feat with the Jets, pointed to their shared paths as a reason for optimism.
“I think they’ll flip it overnight, I really do,” Ryan said. “Look, John Harbaugh, his first year [in Baltimore], rookie head coach, rookie quarterback, went to a championship game. That’s happened, I think, five times in the history of the NFL.
“And the next year, of course, I did.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
