The New York Giants just received some bad news in their pursuit of John Harbaugh.
The New York Giants clearly want John Harbaugh to be their new head coach. The reports have made that clear. But they might already be fighting an uphill battle.
Why? Because the Miami Dolphins fired Mike McDaniel on Thursday, and they are already busting out the heavy artillery in the Harbaugh sweepstakes.
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated has revealed that the Dolphins have interviewed Los Angeles Chargers assistant general manager Chad Alexander for their vacant GM position, which could play a massive role in Harbaugh's decision.
Harbaugh and Alexander spent 11 seasons together with the Baltimore Ravens and even won a Super Bowl together during the 2012-13 campaign, so there is a pretty serious connection there.
Don't think for a second that the decision to interview Alexander isn't strategic on the part of Miami, especially considering the Dolphins don't have much with which to lure Harbaugh otherwise.
There is no question that the Giants represent the more attractive opening.
John Harbaugh. Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images.New York has clarity at quarterback with Jaxson Dart. Meanwhile, the Dolphins will almost surely be shipping Tua Tagovailoa out of town one way or another this offseason, and they don't have a high enough draft pick to land a signal-caller in the NFL Draft.
And while South Beach is nice, let's be real here: winning in New York is different. Leading the Giants to a Super Bowl would do considerably more for Harbaugh's legacy than leading the Dolphins to one, so the Big Apple makes more sense for Harbaugh as a whole.
But if Miami can land Alexander, it will serve as quite the bargaining chip in the race for Harbaugh, who is now, without question, the most desirable head-coaching candidate available.
The 63-year-old went 180-113 over 18 seasons with the Ravens, leading them to six AFC North division titles and 12 playoff appearances in addition to that Super Bowl championship.
Harbaugh also posted just three losing campaigns in Baltimore, but with the most recent instance coming this year when he went 8-9.
We'll see if the Giants have enough pizazz to bring Harbaugh to New York, where he would almost surely be the team's best coach since Tom Coughlin.