After being fired by the Baltimore Ravens, here are the three best landing spots for John Harbaugh.
The Three Best Fits for John Harbaugh
New York Giants
The Giants have been in need of solid leadership since they let go of Tom Coughlin. NY has gone through the likes of Joe Judge, Pat Shurmur, and Ben McAdoo, to name a few of the recent coaches they’ve hired and fired. Harbaugh would be an immediate home run hire for a Giants organization that has been seeking to regain its prominence.
There is plenty of talent on the Giants’ roster, with players like Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, Malik Nabers, Jaxson Dart, and Cam Skattebo, so Harbaugh could come in and build a culture around that talent, getting things going in the right direction. With Harbaugh’s guidance of the roster and, on top of that, having the fifth pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Giants could go from worst in the NFC East to first relatively quickly.
Las Vegas Raiders
Harbaugh could consider moving to the West Coast and joining his brother Jim, who coaches in the same division. With the Raiders holding the top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, Harbaugh could see that asset as a way to start fresh with his own rookie quarterback or use the capital to trade for more draft capital so that he could build up the Raiders roster to his liking.
Raiders ownership hasn’t exactly been top-notch the last few seasons, having fired three head coaches in three seasons. However, with Tom Brady taking over the coaching search, Harbaugh could formulate a plan with Brady to turn the Raiders organization around.
The Raiders have young building blocks in Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers. All Harbaugh would need to do is pick his quarterback, who would likely be Fernando Mendoza out of Indiana, with the first pick, and Harbaugh and the Raiders could be off to the races.
The AFC West could definitely have been the best collection of coaches in that division if Harbaugh joined his brother, along with Sean Payton and Andy Reid.
Cleveland Browns
If Harbaugh would like to stay in the AFC North division and stick it to his old team twice a year, he could head over to Cleveland, where the Browns recently fired Kevin Stefanski. He would have immediate knowledge of the division and especially would know how to defeat his old team in the Ravens.
Harbaugh could also weaken his former employers from a staff perspective, as he could take most of the Ravens’ coaches with him if he were to join Cleveland.
Cleveland still has more work to do with its roster, but it hit on a strong 2025 NFL Draft class. Players such as Quinshon Judkins, Carson Schwesinger, and Harold Fannin. The quarterback position still needs to be sorted out, but the Browns have significant draft capital over the next two seasons after a 2025 draft trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Familiarity would be the biggest reason Harbaugh would choose the Browns, even though there are other teams with better talent already on it.
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