The Giants didn’t like the Falcons’ chirping.
Big Blue did not appreciate Atlanta announcing Monday it had completed an interview with John Harbaugh that would later be revealed to be an exploratory phone call — which he had with multiple other teams as well.
The Athletic’s Ian O’Connor reported that night how owner Chris Mara told him he had an informal lunch at Harbaugh’s house on Sunday before a formal Giants interview.
He then followed up Thursday, the day after the Giants landed — not officially, yet — Harbaugh to be their next coach regarding how Atlanta’s messaging did not sit well with those in East Rutherford.
“This was the day I realized the Giants would not be denied on John Harbaugh,” O’Connor tweeted. “They were not happy with the Falcons overplaying a phoner with Harbaugh as an official interview (they weren’t alone) and Chris Mara went on the record with this.”
While one can argue the semantics of whether a phone call with a coaching candidate qualifies as an interview, the Giants were the only team to get him in their building.
The Giants hosted Harbaugh on Wednesday and dined him at Elia Mediterranean in East Rutherford before he exited to head back home.
Harbaugh had an interview lined up with the Titans, but he bailed on that and decided to finalize his contract details with Big Blue.
The contract is expected to be finalized soon, with even the team’s X account tweeting, “😏,” on Thursday, seemingly a wink to the big news coming down the pipe.
That the Giants didn’t let Harbaugh have another sit-down interview with any teams speaks to the feverish recruiting effort from the organization.
Owners John Mara, Chris Mara, Steve Tisch and general manager Joe Schoen made it clear they wouldn’t take no an an answer to help the franchise return to relevancy.
Of course, paying Harbaugh potentially a record amount that should top $100 million didn’t hurt.
As the Giants prepare to announce Harbaugh’s hiring, the Falcons and Titans are continuing their searches.
Atlanta has announced interviews with ex-Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley and Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.
The Titans’ list reportedly includes McDaniels, ex-Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy, former Jets coach and current 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and former Giants coach Brian Daboll, among others.
