EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Chris Mara had had enough. The New York Giants owner wasn't going to sit around and wait any longer for a chance to get in front of John Harbaugh.
It had already been three days since Harbaugh was fired by the Baltimore Ravens after 18 seasons. This was the Giants' dream scenario that they had discussed several weeks back just in case he shook free.
The veteran head coach with 12 playoff appearances in 18 seasons and a Super Bowl win on his rsum was instantly the top choice for their own head coaching vacancy. Mara wanted to meet Harbaugh, and he got an assist from the Giants' own Super Bowl-winning coach.
"I got in contact with [Harbaugh] after a conversation with Tom Coughlin," Mara said. "He's the one that put us together."
Coughlin, who coached the Giants to Super Bowl victories in the 2007 and 2011 seasons, is friends with Harbaugh. He served as both a sounding board throughout the process and a salesman for the Giants.
The two spoke more than a few times in the two-plus weeks it took to get the deal done. It began with a consolation text from Coughlin to Harbaugh after the firing. Harbaugh responded by expressing his appreciation and at the end of the text asked for advice. He knew the Giants were seriously interested in him.
Coughlin then called Harbaugh and, not long after, pushed for the Mara visit.
"I decided that it was time to act on it," Mara said. "Friday night, before the playoff games started [on Jan. 10], I talked to [owners] John [Mara] and Steve [Tisch] and said, 'I'm driving to Baltimore tomorrow, and I'm going to talk to John [Harbaugh].' I had never talked to John Harbaugh in my life until I got to his house."
That Sunday lunch meeting set the tone for what would eventually turn into a marriage. Harbaugh signed a five-year contract two weeks later that sources say is worth in the vicinity of $100 million.
But there were moments in between where things seemed a little dicey. Harbaugh's side was insistent on reporting directly to ownership and being able to reshape the organizational structure to his desire. That was something the Giants hadn't done in years, and Harbaugh wanted it written into the contract.
At the same time, Harbaugh was compiling information on the organization through a variety of sources: his father Jack, legendary Giants quarterback Eli Manning and former coach Brian Daboll among them, but mostly Coughlin.
Harbaugh and Coughlin's initial conversation was "tertiary" stuff such as the basic history of the organization, ownership setup, the Mara and Tisch families and the interaction the coach has with the ownership level. Later, they went deeper on the organization's chain of command, how the building operates, the general manager, coaches and front office.
It all seemed a way for Harbaugh to make sure this was the job he wanted, aside from it being with the venerable New York Football Giants.
"[Conversations] were always of a nature of John [Harbaugh] in his own way trying to do his investigation, if you will, of the New York Giants," Coughlin told the team's "Giants Huddle" podcast after the hire.
Ten years after walking off the stage and blowing past John Mara following his official separation with the franchise, Coughlin provided a massive assist as the Giants try to get the organization back to its winning ways. Who would have predicted that Coughlin and Chris Mara, who has stepped into a forward-facing role as his brother, John, undergoes treatment for cancer, would be the keys to landing Harbaugh?
It's yet another sign that time heals all wounds. Coughlin and the Giants organization have been on solid ground for years. The Giants are a major supporter of his Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation, and Coughlin has been seen in recent years at team-sanctioned anniversaries and celebrations. He occasionally has attended practices, and his son-in-law, Chris Snee, currently works in the front office as a senior scout.
Those who know Coughlin best are hardly surprised that he lent a helping hand.
"That sounds like Coach Coughlin," Manning said Wednesday morning on "Get Up." "And that is what you want. Coach Coughlin was accountable. You knew you were getting the same Coach Coughlin every day. He treated not just the players but everyone in the organization the same way. You weren't walking around on eggshells, but knew you had to do your job or Coach Coughlin was going to let you know. You were going to hear about it from him."
This is what the Giants have now with Harbaugh. They expect a sense of accountability that, quite frankly, hasn't been around for years.
It has created a feeling of hope for an organization that has won only 21% of its games the past two seasons. Coughlin deserves some of the credit for helping lure a coach with Harbaugh's rsum. So does Chris Mara.
"Chris Mara did a great job," Coughlin said. "Chris did a great job representing John and the Giants and laying the whole thing out and working with John throughout this whole process. Even in its darkest hour, I would say to John [Harbaugh], please give great thought to how this can be put together so this dream of yours and the Giants can come to fruition."
Eventually, it did. Hat tip to Coughlin.
