The Atlanta Falcons‘ decision to publicize their first phone call with John Harbaugh prompted the Giants to clarify something loudly for any remaining doubters:
They are all in on the former Baltimore Ravens head coach.
Chris Mara — whose current title in the Giants organization is “senior player personnel executive, board director” — told The Athletic that he met Harbaugh for lunch on Sunday and had an informal meeting at the coach’s house.
That is even more significant than it sounds.
Chris Mara, the brother of co-owner John Mara, has stepped forward in recent months during John Mara’s grueling cancer battle. When John Mara stopped going on regular road trips with the team for games, Chris Mara was the ranking member of the Mara family attending away games.
So it’s important to understand: This is not just a member of the owning Mara family showing strong interest in the former Ravens coach. This is the highest-ranking member of the current ‘traveling’ Mara ownership family going to Harbaugh’s house.
This is what a full-court press from the Giants looks like in an effort to land their No. 1 target on the coaching market.
Harbaugh, 63, is weighing his options before jumping into the formal interview process and making his decision.
He already has spoken to new Falcons president Matt Ryan, as Atlanta strangely announced after a phone call on Monday. And the Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns also are vacancies to consider as threats.
The Giants are starting to look like stronger contenders in that field than they did last week, with the Dolphins hiring Green Bay’s Jon-Eric Sullivan as GM, the Titans scraping the bottom of the barrel for interviews with Jason Garrett and Brian Daboll and the Browns clinging to some of their staff.
Atlanta is viewed as the biggest challenger of the current openings. But the job that lurks as the greatest possible threat is the Packers gig — if it opens.
Head coach Matt LaFleur and the organization reportedly are expected to try to work out a contract extension entering the final year of his current deal. Until Green Bay re-signs LaFleur, though, speculation will persist that the Packers still could trade or fire their head coach after yet another playoff disappointment despite his impressive regular season track record.
And if the Packers’ job opens, the Giants could lose control of their own destiny, so to speak, due to the allure to Harbaugh of coaching a landmark Green Bay franchise that already has a quarterback, a talented roster and a playoff team in place.
If LaFleur stays in Green Bay, however, and if no other jobs open, the Giants conceivably could end up in the driver’s seat.
If the Falcons offered Harbaugh more money and control, but the Giants had a more attractive quarterback situation and a more historic brand, which would Harbaugh choose?
That remains to be seen.
But what is clear from Chris Mara’s visit — and from the Giants’ rapid leaking of their pursuit in response to Atlanta’s announcement — is that New York wants everyone to know that they are trying their hardest to land Harbaugh.
And that they want Harbaugh to see that most of all.
