Giants’ John Harbaugh would ‘sign up right now’ for mentor Andy Reid’s Chiefs success – amNewYork

Jan 20, 2026; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh speaks at the press conference announcing his hiring at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

New Giants head coach John Harbaugh cites Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid as one of his most profound mentors when he worked on his staff as a special teams coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles.

In a way, he is experiencing a remarkably similar career arc. Harbaugh spent 18 seasons as the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, where he made the playoffs 12 times and won a Super Bowl.

Reid spent 14 years as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles with nine winning seasons and an NFC title. Like Harbaugh, he was not a free agent for long, as the Chiefs came calling. It was there that he cemented a Hall of Fame legacy, winning five AFC titles and three Super Bowls. 

Harbaugh, who finalized a five-year, $100 million deal on Saturday — just two weeks after his run in Baltimore ended — hopes the second act of his head-coaching career is just as successful.

“Andy’s a man of few words. His four words to me was, ‘Change could be good,’” Harbaugh said during his introductory press conference at Giants facilities on Tuesday. “He was excited. He’s fired up for us. He’s a good friend. How about we do this? We’ll sign up for that deal right now, what he did in Kansas City. Let’s do that.”

For that to happen, though, Harbaugh has to pull the Giants out of the hole they have been languishing in for the last 13 years. They have had 11 losing seasons since winning Super Bowl XLVI and are a combined 7-27 since the start of the 2024 season. 

Compare that to the state the Ravens were in when he took over in 2008, following longtime head coach Brian Billick. Baltimore was just two years removed from a 13-3 season and an AFC North title.

There is considerably more work to be done to make the Giants respectable, let alone the playoff contenders he expects them to be in 2026.

“No two places are the same, no two people are the same,” Harbaugh said. “We’re going to take every one of those things we meet head-on and do the best we can with it every single day. That means a lot when you really think about what it means. Are we really doing our best? Are we really putting everything we have into it for this day? Are we really attacking the day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind? Is that something we can accomplish?…

“We can if we decide to, right guys?” he asked, turning to the Giants players on hand at his press conference. “When you do that day by day, you build something, and you take it out on the field and let the chips fly.”

For that vision to come true, Harbaugh harped on the need to have a roster filled with “guys who love football.”

“If you love football, guys, you’re gonna want to be here,” he said. “If there are guys around here who don’t love football, we’re probably going to let those guys play somewhere else.”

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