Giants Expected To Interview John Harbaugh; Jaxson Dart Appeals To Free Agent HC?
John Harbaugh-Giants noise is not quieting. Although eight HC jobs are now open, the Giants continue to find themselves in the thick of a race that has not technically started yet.
The recently fired head coach is not planning to schedule interviews until Monday, according to the New York Daily News’ Gary Myers, but the Giants are believed to have engaged in at least four conversations with the newly available leader.
[RELATED: Bills, Packers On Radar For Stealth Harbaugh Pursuits?]
They have kept in “close contact” with Harbaugh ahead of an expected interview, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini tweets. This has lasted since minutes after his Ravens firing, when as many as nine teams contacted him. The Giants were then viewed as preparing an aggressive run at the proven winner.
A Harbaugh-Giants meeting is likely to occur midway through next week, per ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan, who passes along one reason Harbaugh is believed to be interested in the New York job. Jaxson Dart represents a key reason for the Super Bowl-winning HC’s interest, with Raanan noting the 2025 first-round pick is believed to be a “significant” driver for Harbaugh.
The Dolphins are expected to launch a pursuit of Harbaugh, though Myers notes they had yet to contact him as of late Thursday night, but Miami has a major quarterback question in the event the team will move on from Tua Tagovailoa at a historically expensive cost. Other HC-needy teams in this year’s cycle do not look to have a long-term QB on their roster (Browns, Cardinals, Raiders) or employ one with persistent health issues (Falcons). The jury certainly has not reached a verdict on Dart, but he showed promise as a rookie.
Harbaugh, 63, would have a fixer-upper on his hands in New York. The Giants have many holes along their offensive line, potentially needing three to four new starters alongside Andrew Thomas, and their defense ranked 26th in scoring and 28th in yardage despite Abdul Carter‘s arrival and the signings of Paulson Adebo and Jevon Holland.
Harbaugh has only worked with GMs groomed by the Ravens — Ozzie Newsome, Eric DeCosta — but Joe Schoen does not (as of now, at least) appear to be a dealbreaker for the in-demand candidate. A coach of Harbaugh’s stature, however, would naturally have some leeway to cut into Schoen’s full-on roster control — power he wielded during the Brian Daboll era — if that is something he seeks during this hotly contested derby.
The Falcons have also come up as an interested team, and mutual interest may exist between the coach and the Browns. The Dolphins made a point to fire Mike McDaniel after Harbaugh became available. Stephen Ross has shown Harbaugh interest in the past — including via trade ahead in the late 2010s, before the team’s Brian Flores hire — but the owner is believed to have fired McDaniel independent of Harbaugh’s status. Still, Miami will likely be in the mix here soon. But the Giants have been the team most closely connected to him thus far.
Drafting First-Round QB Still On Table For Giants
DECEMBER 31: During his latest episode of Breaking Big Blue, ESPN’s Jordan Raanan notes no one around the NFL is operating with the belief Schoen is in danger of being fired. The team’s head coaching future remains unclear, but it increasingly appears as though no front office moves will be coming.
DECEMBER 28: At times this year, it seemed a low period for the Giants franchise was coming to an end and starting to head uphill as we saw early success with offensive rookies Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo. Some of those opinions have waned as the season has worn on, to the point that some see the Giants utilizing their first-round pick on a quarterback for the second draft in a row. 
After the Giants tried and failed to move up to No. 1 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft to take Cam Ward, there was some speculation that they may attempt to trade back into the back of the first round for another quarterback option, perhaps Shedeur Sanders or Dart. The Saints had been tied to Dart, as well, but after he slipped by their No. 9 overall pick, all eyes were on New Orleans to trade back into the first round, as well. Ultimately, it was New York that pulled the trigger and landed Dart.
Expectations for Dart’s first season varied wildly. Some viewed a short leash for veteran starter Russell Wilson, while others thought Dart could hold a clipboard throughout his entire rookie campaign. After an 0-3 start to the season in which the Giants scored fewer than 10 points in two of those games, the team turned the offense over to the rookie, and Dart delivered, immediately, with a win over the playoff-bound Chargers.
The following week, Dart showed some vulnerabilities in a game that would give the Saints their first win of the season, but he rebounded with a big win over the division-rival Eagles in his third start. A playoff gauntlet that included trips to Denver, Philadelphia, and Chicago and a home matchup with the 49ers prevented any more wins from being added to Dart’s record, but the young passer continued to show strong abilities and impressive instincts in his first several starts under head coach Brian Daboll.
As Connor Hughes of SportsNet New York points out, though, Daboll’s firing led to some regression in Dart’s overall performance. After throwing 10 touchdowns to just three interceptions and rushing for seven more scores in his first seven starts, Dart has only thrown three touchdowns to two interceptions while staying scoreless on the ground up until today’s win over the lowly Raiders. Post-Daboll, the team’s designed usage of Dart was altered in a way that perhaps now lends some justifiability to looking into a new passer next year.
To that end, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that, before making any concrete plans for the future, the Giants will be fully evaluating Heisman-winner and projected QB1 of the 2026 NFL Draft Fernando Mendoza. While not boasting talent that commands surefire No. 1 overall status à la Joe Burrow or Trevor Lawrence, the Indiana-product (by way of Cal) has been billed lately as the top passing prospect in the coming draft. With the finalized holders of the top two picks in the draft both being quarterback-needy teams, there’s a high likelihood that Mendoza could be selected with one of those two picks.
If the team does decide to draft a new quarterback, the expectation is that they would try to trade Dart to another team searching for an answer at the position. Dart’s early promise and strong attributes could make him a strong option for many teams lacking at the position, but if the Giants grade Mendoza highly and like him more than they currently like Dart, the rookie’s concussion history and reckless play style could make him an expendable asset in the eyes of the team.
Part of these decisions will come down to the staffers making them, and while general manager Joe Schoen has been expected to be retained in New York, his position is hardly secure. In fact, while Rapoport didn’t speak to this point in his segment linked above, the banner showing as he discussed the Giants reported that Schoen was “likely to remain with (the) team for (the) draft.” It’s hard to believe New York would allow Schoen to have input on something as impactful as the team’s 2026 first-round pick — or their next head coach — if they didn’t expect to retain him past that, but NFL Network’s wording seems ominous, nonetheless.
We’re still months away from any solid answers on what the future will bring for the Giants. Next week could determine if they have the No. 1 overall pick. Several stages of the pre-draft process could determine if Mendoza will be the likely draft choice. Who the team drafts could easily determine the futures of both Dart and Schoen. Lots of variables remain up in the air for what is setting up to be a newsworthy offseason in New York.
Dolphins To Explore Trading Up For QB In 2026 Draft?
The Dolphins may have no choice but to retain quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in 2026, given the financial ramifications of a release and the presumed absence of a meaningful trade market. Even if that proves to be the case, Tagovailoa’s performance this season has led to his demotion and has forced the ‘Fins to at least contemplate moving on from their 2020 first-rounder.
During his weekly appearance on WSVN Fox 7, prominent NFL agent Drew Rosenhaus (who does not represent Tagovailoa) said he expects the Dolphins to explore a trade-up in the 2026 draft in an effort to land the southpaw’s successor (via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald). In that scenario, newly-minted Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza would unsurprisingly be a “likely target,” per Rosenhaus. If Oregon’s Dante Moore elects to turn pro – which would run counter to the most recent reporting on the matter – he would presumably be in consideration as well.
At present, the Giants hold the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft. They made signal-caller Jaxson Dart a first-round selection this year, and Dart has performed well enough in his rookie season to justify that choice and to solidify his standing within the organization. As Jackson notes, there has been some speculation from ESPN insider and former NFL GM Mike Tannenbaum that Big Blue could draft Mendoza and look to trade Dart if they ultimately secure the No. 1 pick, but if the Giants or the Cam Ward-fronted Titans end up with the top choice, one would imagine either club would seriously consider dealing it to a QB-needy team.
However, the 2-13 Raiders and 2-13 Giants play each other Sunday, and the loser of that game will have the inside track on the top pick. Unlike the Giants, the Raiders do not have a player that resembles a franchise passer on the roster, so they may keep that pick for themselves and use it on a player like Mendoza or Moore. Another obvious barrier to a Dolphins trade-up is the fact that teams like the Jets, Browns, and Cardinals are also likely to consider drafting a QB and are slated to pick ahead of Miami, thus giving them a more valuable first-rounder to offer in a swap.
That said, the Dolphins still could finish with a pick as high as No. 7, and they have a high second-round pick and three third-rounders in 2026. They also control the rights to all of their future first-rounders, and their first-round selection in 2027 – which is projected to boast a deeper QB class – could be a high one, as Jackson posits.
In short, they may have the ammo to do what they tried to do in 2020, when they offered a package of four first-round picks to the Bengals to move up just four spots from the No. 5 pick to No. 1 for the right to select Joe Burrow (although three of those first-rounders were in the 2020 draft). Cincinnati rejected the proposal, and Miami settled for Tagovailoa.
Neither Mendoza nor Moore is the type of prospect that Burrow was, and depending on the results of the last several games of the current season, Miami’s first pick in 2026 may not come until No. 17. If that happens, this type of trade-up speculation would probably be moot. Still, Rosenhaus’ remarks serve as yet another indicator that the ‘Fins no longer believe Tagovailoa is their long-term quarterback.
Giants QB Jaxson Dart Clears Concussion Protocol
Jameis Winston has started each of the past two games as a fill-in for the Giants. He will return to backup duties in Week 13. 
Jaxson Dart has cleared concussion protocol, per a team announcement. That sets the first-round rookie up to return to action on Sunday against the Patriots. Avoiding any further injury-induced absences the rest of the way will be a key goal for team and player in this case.
Including the preseason, Dart has already been evaluated for a concussion four times this year. Concerns about the number he hits he takes during a game have been raised since he took over QB1 duties. As such, few were surprised when Dart suffered a concussion in Week 10. He remained in the multi-step protocol from that point until today.
Dart was a full participant in practice yesterday (h/t ESPN’s Jordan Raanan). That was a clear indication a return in time for Week 13 would be in store. The Giants are still shorthanded on offense, with wideout Malik Nabers and running back Cam Skattebo out for the season. Dart’s return will allow for his development to continue, though, while also giving interim head coach Mike Kafka more time to audition for the full-time gig alongside New York’s QB of the future.
The fate of general manager Joe Schoen is also uncertain at this point, although signs point to him being safe. It was Schoen who traded back into the first round to select Dart in April’s draft, a move which seems to have helped his standing in the organization. A strong finish to the campaign would not move the Giants into postseason contention, but it could offer promise for 2026.
Winston guided New York to close losses against the Packers and Lions during his two starts. Defensive breakdowns remained an issue during that period, prompting the dismissal of DC Shane Bowen. As the team looks to make needed improvements on that side of the ball, Dart will be back in the fold beginning on Sunday.
Giants Rule Out QB Jaxson Dart For Week 12
Giants interim head coach Mike Kafka announced that Jaxson Dart is still in concussion protocol and will not play in Week 12 against the Lions. 
The team was expecting their rookie quarterback to be cleared for Sunday’s game, per SNY’s Connor Hughes, but they will instead turn to Jameis Winston for a second game in a row. Winston started last week against the Packers and completed 19 of his 29 passes for 201 yards, plus a rushing touchdown to take the lead in the fourth quarter. However, after Green Bay got back on top with a touchdown of their own, Winston threw an interception to dash any hopes of a late comeback. He will be looking for better results in Detroit, though the Lions’ defense projects to be a difficult matchup.
Dart went down at the end of the third quarter of New York’s Week 10 loss in Chicago. Russell Wilson finished the drive with a field goal, but the Bears scored 14 unanswered points to hand the Giants their eighth loss. In the wake of that game, Brian Daboll was fired and replaced with Kafka for the remainder of the campaign. That change on the sidelines saw a swap in the QB depth chart, one which will last at least one more game.
Dart has remained in concussion protocol since suffering his injury, but he did take a step toward a return by participating in practice earlier this week (h/t ESPN’s Jordan Raanan). The first-rounder will look to continue making progress over the coming days. New York’s schedule includes a Week 13 matchup with New England before the team’s bye week.
A cautious approach in Dart’s case would of course come as little surprise given his status as the team’s present and future under center and its 2-9 record. One of Kafka’s priorities once Dart is back in the fold will be a reduction in the number of hits the Ole Miss product takes. As Raanan’s colleague Adam Schefter writes, Dart has been hit a total of 84 times between passing situations and QB runs since he took over the starter’s gig in Week 4. Reducing that figure is something which has been stressed to the 22-year-old from people inside and outside the Giants’ building, per Schefter.
Winston, added in free agency prior to the Dart selection, is under contract through 2026 (as opposed to Wilson, who is a pending free agent). The veteran half of New York’s quarterback tandem for next season will look to lead the team to a win in his second Giants start, while Dart’s status will remain one to watch.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Giants To Start QB Jameis Winston In Week 11
With Jaxson Dart in concussion protocol, the Giants will turn to their third different starting quarterback of the season in Week 11. Jameis Winston will get the nod on Sunday against the Packers, Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News reports.
After Dart suffered his injury in last week’s loss to the Bears, season-opening starter Russell Wilson replaced him. With the Wilson experiment having gone poorly this year, newly named interim head coach Mike Kafka will try his hand with Winston in his first game replacing the fired Brian Daboll.
Roughly a month before the Giants traded up to draft Dart 25th overall in April, they brought in Wilson and Winston as potential stopgaps in free agency. Wilson inked a one-year, $10.5MM deal, while Winston signed on for two years and $8MM.
Regardless of who grabs the reins as the Giants’ full-time head coach, Wilson is all but assured to leave the team after the season. Considering Winston’s already under contract, he figures to serve as Dart’s backup in 2026. It’s worth noting that a portion of Winston’s salary for next season is already guaranteed.
The Giants used Winston as their emergency third QB until Kafka took over. The battle-tested former No. 1 overall pick is now in line to make the 88th start of his career since he entered the NFL with the Buccaneers in 2015.
Also a former Saint and Brown, Winston most recently saw regular-season action with Cleveland in Week 15 last year. He made seven starts in 12 appearances with the Browns and completed 61.1% of passes for 2,121 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. The Browns went 2-5 in Winston’s starts. He and Kafka will hope for better results on Sunday.
Giants Name Tim Kelly Interim Offensive Coordinator; Mike Kafka Remains Play-Caller
After a promotion from offensive coordinator to interim head coach earlier this week, Mike Kafka will continue to call the plays for the Giants. Kafka named an interim offensive coordinator on Wednesday, though, announcing that tight ends coach Tim Kelly will take the reins (via Dan Duggan of The Athletic).
Kafka confirmed that he and Kelly will work with a new starting quarterback this week in Jameis Winston. With Jaxson Dart battling a concussion, Winston will face the Packers on Sunday.
Dart is “right on track and right on pace” in his recovery, Kafka said (via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post). The Giants haven’t ruled Dart out yet, but they’re understandably taking a cautious approach with the prized first-round rookie.
Kelly, who joined the Giants’ staff ahead of the 2024 campaign, is becoming an O-coordinator for the third time. The 39-year-old previously served in that role with the Texans from 2019-21 and the Titans in 2023.
Kelly was at the helm in Houston during quarterback Deshaun Watson‘s final two years of action with the club. Watson went to the Pro Bowl in both 2019 and 2020 under Kelly, who led an offense that was a middle-of-the-pack unit in those seasons. The Texans were a playoff team in 2019, but they fired head coach Bill O’Brien after an 0-4 start the next year. Romeo Crennel finished the campaign as Houston’s interim HC.
After going 4-8 under Crennel, the Texans hired David Culley in 2021. He retained Kelly, but the OC no longer had Watson at his disposal. Watson spent the entire season inactive after sexual harassment allegations came to light. The Texans primarily turned to Davis Mills under center in Watson’s place. Houston’s offense was among the worst in the league that year, and the team moved on from Culley and his coaching staff after the season.
Kelly quickly landed on his feet on Mike Vrabel‘s staff in Tennessee, working as the Titans’ passing game coordinator in 2022 before taking over the offense the next season. With a fading Ryan Tannehill and struggling rookie Will Levis as their QBs, the Titans finished a woeful 27th in points and 28th in yardage during a 6-11 showing in 2023. They didn’t retain Vrabel or his staff beyond then.
The Giants will look outside for a full-time replacement for Brian Daboll, whom they fired Monday, though Kafka will receive consideration for the job. He and Kelly will try to make their cases for promotions over the next several weeks.
Giants QB Jaxson Dart Suffers Concussion
A late blown lead resulted in another loss for the Giants. The team’s ability to rebound next week could be hampered by an injury at the quarterback spot.
Jaxson Dart fumbled late in the third quarter of today’s game against the Bears. He was not initially evaluated on the sidelines after his head hit the field on the play and returned to the game during New York’s next possession. During the period between quarters, however, the rookie was tested in the medical tent before being taken to the locker room.
Shortly thereafter, Dart was officially ruled out of the contest with a concussion. The Giants’ offense was led by Russell Wilson the rest of the way. Despite leading by 10 points with less than four minutes remaining, New York wound up losing 24-20. That marks another close loss on the part of the Giants, a team whose offense is already without top receiver Malik Nabers and impressive running back Cam Skattebo.
It is likely Dart will be unavailable as well for Week 11. A path exists for players in concussion protocol to clear the required steps in time to play the following week, but absences spanning at least one game are commonplace. Presuming Dart is indeed sidelined for the next contest, the Giants will turn to Wilson as their starter once again.
That setup was in place at the start of the campaign, but as expected Dart took over QB1 duties in short order. Sunday marked the first-rounder’s seventh start of the season, although it included a continuation of a playing style many feared would result in an injury. In part due to the absences of Nabers and Skattebo, Dart has taken plenty of hits during his time in the lineup. Observers warned about injuries being an increased risk in his case, and he is now on track to miss time. The Giants were fined for their handling of Dart’s previous trip to the medical tent, but a repeat of that discipline should not be expected.
Wilson is a pending free agent, but the Giants elected to keep him past the trade deadline. Fellow veteran Jameis Winston – who is under contract through 2026 and hopes to remain with the team – will handle backup duties provided Dart is unable to suit up. Attention will turn to the latter’s recovery process before the Giants look to continue his development.
NFL, NFLPA Investigating Giants’ Handling Of Jaxson Dart Concussion Protocol
The NFL is investigating “the application of concussion protocol” in regards to Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart during Thursday night’s game against the Eagles, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The review will be conducted jointly with the NFLPA as required by the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
Giants head coach Brian Daboll was seen attempting to enter the blue medical tent and having an animated conversation with the team’s medical staff as they evaluated Dart. Both Daboll and the Giants could face discipline a result of the incident, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
Daboll apologized for the incident after the game and said (via SNY) that he was not trying to rush or otherwise influence Dart’s concussion protocol. Instead, he claimed that he was trying to find out if Dart was “good or not” as he considered calling a timeout and attempting a fourth down conversion, a point he reiterated on Friday.
After news of the league’s investigation became public, the Giants released a statement from team president and co-owner John Mara released a statement that backed Daboll’s version of events while also noting that “the appearance of going to the tent is inappropriate.”
“We have protocols in place as a league to ensure player safety and we need to allow our medical staff to execute those protocols without interference,” the statement continued. “We understand the situation is under review by the NFL and the NFLPA, and obviously we will cooperate fully.”
Giants running back Cam Skattebo also went to the medical tent to check on Dart during the game. On Friday, he said (via SNY) that he was trying to “calm down” his teammate knowing that the rookie quarterback “wants to be back on the field.”
“We know we have to go through protocol…to make sure we can get back on the field,” Skattebo added.
Given the increasing national attention on the long-term impact of concussions on football players, the NFL cannot afford to take these incidents lightly. Any hint of a team not following concussion protocol could be a major issue for the league from both a liability and public relations standpoint. The Dolphins’ handling of Tua Tagovailoa‘s concussion in 2022 spurred a similar investigation that found that the protocol was followed but needed to be improved.
Giants QB Jaxson Dart Believed Saints Might Draft Him With No. 9 Pick
The Saints were heavily connected to quarterback Jaxson Dart in the run-up to this year’s draft, as the club hosted the Ole Miss product on a “30” visit and did extensive work on him. But New Orleans, which held the No. 9 overall pick, did not consider any quarterback in this year’s class outside of Cam Ward worthy of that selection, and the groundwork the team laid for a potential trade-up into the latter stages of the first round or the early portion of the second round did not produce a deal.
Instead, the Giants selected Dart with the No. 25 overall pick, which they obtained by trading back into the first round after using their No. 3 overall selection on EDGE Abdul Carter. New York head coach Brian Daboll grew fonder of Dart as the draft process went on, and Dart put together a promising training camp and preseason slate. Making his regular season debut in Week 4, he flashed in helping the Giants secure an upset win over the Chargers, Big Blue’s first victory of the campaign.
The Saints ultimately used their No. 40 choice on Louisville passer Tyler Shough, who recently turned 26 but who saw his draft stock rise in the late winter and early spring despite his age. However, New Orleans elected to open the season with 2024 fifth-rounder Spencer Rattler as its QB1, and while Rattler’s surface-level statistics are not terrible, the team has struggled to an 0-4 record.
In making his second career start in Week 5, Dart will have a chance to show the Saints what they missed, as New Orleans will host Dart’s Giants. He appears to be looking forward to that opportunity.
Given the pre-draft work the Saints did on Dart, the signal-caller believed he had a good chance to hear his name called when New Orleans was on the clock with the No. 9 selection (via Dan Duggan of The Athletic). Dart acknowledged that being passed over put a chip on his shoulder.
Of course, it is much too soon to tell what will become of Dart’s and Shough’s careers. It could be that the Saints’ new coaching staff is simply allowing its rookie passer – who has just two pass attempts thus far, both of which came towards the tail end of a blowout loss in Week 3 – to slowly acclimate to the professional level in an obvious transitional year, while Daboll’s shaky job security may have been at least partially responsible for his decision to insert Dart into the starting lineup.
Even so, a strong Dart performance and a Giants win will not do much to assuage any angst in New Orleans.