The Giants took significant strides in deciding to pursue, and ultimately land, John Harbaugh as their next head coach. The move required the acceptance that things hadn’t been working for quite some time and that bringing in someone from an organization that is known for its stability could unlock the secrets to success, even if meant breaking a few eggs. Several eggs were broken today, as Harbaugh began the process of letting go of any coaches he doesn’t intend to carry with him on his first staff in New York. 
Per Ryan Dunleavy of NY Post Sports, this included a majority of the defensive staff. Defensive line coach Andre Patterson, inside linebackers coach John Egorugwu, defensive backs coach/pass game coordinator Marquand Manuel, and cornerbacks coach Jeff Burris were all told today that they wouldn’t be returning for the 2026 campaign. Apart from the defense, Jordan Raanan of ESPN reported that special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial was also told to clean out his office.
The only remaining position coach on the defensive side of the ball is Charlie Bullen, who served as outside linebackers coach before being named interim defensive coordinator for the team’s final five games of the season. Bullen will be the only one who gets a chance to return to his position group, headlined by stars Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Abdul Carter. According to Connor Hughes of SportsNet New York, Bullen is open to returning under the new defensive coordinator, but “several teams are circling him” with hopes of poaching. Even the rival Cowboys interviewed him for their open DC position.
Throughout the day, Harbaugh held face-to-face meetings with incumbent assistants under contract for next year, though some of the dismissed staffers didn’t get to make their case to the new head coach. Those coaches were informed by general manager Joe Schoen that they were “not part of Harbaugh’s plans and free to look elsewhere.” Per separate reports from Hughes and Raanan, Bullen and Patterson were the two in-person meetings; Patterson coached through the 2025 season as he dealt with prostate cancer.
None of the moves were major surprises — that is, until Ian Rapoport dropped the bomb that senior vice president of football operations and strategy Kevin Abrams had been let go, setting off a chain of stunned reactions from the local beat reporters. Abrams had been a respected employee of Big Blue since 1999, spanning four general managers and even serving as an interim fifth GM in 2017.
Per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, Abrams was a key contributor on negotiating contracts and, per FOX Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano, was once considered the GM-in-waiting behind Dave Gettleman before Gettleman’s tenure came to an abrupt end. Whenever Schoen came in to replace Gettleman, Abrams took a backseat to allow for a smooth transition and even took a further step back so that Brandon Brown could come in as assistant general manager, per Dan Duggan of The Athletic. Though several reporters’ reactions confirmed it, it was Hughes who voiced that Abrams was seemingly “untouchable for just about every Giants regime.”
While the reactions were those of shock, all seemed to be on the same page that these moves are necessary in order to elevate out of the pitfalls of the past. Harbaugh’s hiring, including the days of discussion about reporting roles, was designed to provoke a departure from “bad organizational habits,” per Pat Leonard of NY Daily News. Leonard claims Harbaugh “must act quickly and harshly to dismantle the Giants’ toxicity.” Leonard’s fiery rhetoric continued with phrases like “half measures will not do,” “ripped out at the root,” “there can be no delay,” and “no protection of tenured employees for the sake of relationships.”
While softer language conveyed the message from other accounts, the message itself was clear. Leonard argued that Harbaugh could have toed the party line and moved unwanted personnel to positions of less importance but that would just continue the cycle of politics. Instead, Harbaugh is taking the initiative to make the moves necessary to enact actual change in the building. More shocking changes could rise up on the horizon, as well.
To fill out the new holes on the defensive staff, Harbaugh took the obvious initial route of requesting interviews with several of his former staffers in Baltimore, just to be blocked by his former team. Though team owner Steve Bisciotti implied sweeping coaching changes in the future, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, the executive is still acting in the Ravens’ best interests and giving the eventual new head coach first dibs at the guys still under contract in Baltimore.
Dunleavy points out that a worst-case scenario could see Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter named head coach of the Ravens. According to senior NFL insider Josina Anderson, Minter concluded his in-person, second-round interview with the team today, and Dunleavy asserts that, due to Minter’s prior history on the Ravens’ coaching staff, he may be one of the few head coaching options to deny Harbaugh a chance to interview the defensive staffers that Minter may want to retain.
As a HUGE Giants fan, I respect that they are very loyal to most staff. As a fan, I’ve been loyal to them since I was 5. However, being loyal hasn’t worked for a long time and I’m into letting Harbaugh do what he wants. It sucks for certain people, but maybe the loyalty caused complacency that led them to being a joke in the NFL for about a decade (minus 2 years)
The Giants don’t do anything drastic unless prompted to by a fan revolt or a threat of same.
As to those “stars” on defense? Burns is a legitimate star. Carter is a diva (benched 1st quarter of Patriots game for misconduct). Thibodaux is oft-injured and appears to be a cap casualty.
Carter isn’t getting enough credit, primarily because of his low sack total (5), but that’s extremely misleading in regards to how dominant he was this season. According to PFF, out of 115 edge defenders Carter was ranked 5th in hits, 11th in hurries and 11th in total pressures. That’s a fairly elite pass rushing level. He was just announced as a DROY finalist for a reason.
Cris Collinsworth’s PFF pushes false metrics. Abdul Carter has an attitude that would get him cut from any other NFL club.
Please elaborate on how QB Hits, Hurries and Pressures are “false metrics” when they are tangible stats you witness with your eyes. They aren’t advanced metrics based on some algorithm. You either hit a QB or you don’t. He hit the QB more than all but four players in the league this year. Just cuz it doesn’t fit a narrative doesn’t mean it’s not true.
The whole attitude thing is blown out of proportion. He has some work ethic issues that can be resolved with good coaching. It’s not like he was a clubhouse cancer or something. The only thing we know for sure was that he was late to a team walkthrough, but it was because he was receiving redlight therapy in the facility and supposedly didn’t realize Kafka changed the practice times from what they had been under Daboll. It’s not like he was hungover at home sleeping in. Dude was at the facilty getting treatment. The only other reports are that his tardiness wasn’t uncommon, but in all honestly that should be an indictment of Daboll more than anything. He let things like that slide and it became part of the culture. Kafka started locking it down right away and a guy like Harbaugh is gonna lay the law down and make sure things like that aren’t tolerated. But to Carter’s credit he did own up to it and say he screwed up and needs to do better. That’s far from being a “diva” or having an “attitude.” Now, his tardiness isn’t excusable but my point is that it’s 100% coachable. The NY media loves to blow things out of proportion cuz they’re hungry for stories, especially when the blood’s in the water for a disfunctional franchise that keeps losing. They take these little anecdotal things based off of minimal info and run with them to build an entire narrative based entirely off assumptions. Carter is gonna be fine under Harbaugh, and he’ll be a stud on this defense for years to come. A grand total of zero teams in the NFL are cutting the #3 pick because he was late to a few meetings.
These aren’t comments from somebody with an attitude problem:
“I’m learning a lot in terms of just being a man, being in the NFL, just going through it.” “I’m learning a lot and I’m glad I’m going through it so I can be better prepared in the future.”
“I take it. The guys who say that, those are guys I look up to, guys I respect,” “So, if they say something like that, I’m going to look at myself first, like ‘alright, what am I doing? How can I get better?’ and prove to them that I can earn their respect and go out and be who I’m supposed to be.”
“I would say just what I do on the field after I’ve been through all this adversity, all the controversy,” “How do I respond? Do I shy away from it or do I accept the challenge and become better and improve, keep improving, and be the man I’m supposed to be?”
The Giants have a young and talented team ! They just didn’t have the right coach in place . I love watching NFL football and when I watch the Giants I’m thinking how are they losing all these games with the talent they have ? Well look at my Bears . A head coach who knows wtf he is doing is all you need. Eagles and commanders better watch out because I think the Giants will improve if time next year
My only question/concern: is Jessie Armstead staying on? I don’t particularly care what he even does. I just love that guy.
So is Minter coaching the Ravens?