Patriots’ Rival Facing Unexpected Drama After ‘Premature’ Head Coaching Announcement

It was announced earlier this week that the New York Giants would be signing former Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh to fill the team’s head coaching vacancy.

Harbaugh is considered by many to be the best head coach on the market, and with eight teams looking to fill vacancies, there was a league-wide sweepstakes to see who would land the biggest fish.

Wednesday, it was reported that Harbaugh and the Giants had reached an agreement, and the Super Bowl-winning coach would become the head guy for New York.

Two days later, the two parties still have not been able to come to an agreement, and no contract has been signed.

“The team had all day Thursday to finalize a contract with Harbaugh, but a deal didn’t get done, and as of Friday morning, there was still no contract in place,” CBS Sports’ John Breech wrote.

This has drawn comparisons to two New England Patriots greats who have been involved in similar scenarios.

Famously, former head coach Bill Belichick accepted a job with the New York Jets before writing his resignation on a napkin and taking up the mantle as the head coach of the Patriots.

The other instance is much less notorious, but it involves current offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. McDaniels reportedly accepted a job to be the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts in 2018, but had a change of heart and decided to remain the OC for Tom Brady’s Patriots.

That is not to say that it will happen in New York. However, without a written agreement, Harbaugh can still be contacted and potentially swayed.

“The final issues aren’t over money; it’s over language,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported. “‘There’s no derailment and nothing has changed,’ one source said. Talks continue, and the two sides are working to get it across the finish line.”

Update: Giants and John Harbaugh still are working through the details of their contract, and it is not yet done, per sources.

The final issues aren’t over money; it’s over language. “There’s no derailment and nothing has changed,” one source said. Talks continue, and the two… pic.twitter.com/q731fK99oR

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 16, 2026