QB Dart: Giants 'can't wait' to play for Harbaugh

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart spoke "at length" with coach John Harbaugh during the team's courtship with the Super Bowl winner, including several times on the phone. Then they had a lengthy sit-down during Harbaugh's interview last Wednesday.

Harbaugh, who agreed to a deal by the end of that day and signed to be the Giants head coach by the weekend, was the coach of choice for Dart and his teammates.

"When Coach Harbaugh's name came up, that was the one that we were all really, really excited about and wanted to have," Dart said during a 1-on-1 interview with ESPN while on a family vacation. "So I think from just our standpoint, the guys just can't wait to play for him and have the chance to get coached by him."

Harbaugh was fired several weeks back after 18 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. It was a welcome surprise to Dart that he became available. It allowed the Giants to pair the proven veteran coach with the talented young talented quarterback.

"Winning," Dart said of his expectations of working together with Harbaugh. "A whole lot of winning. That's it."

It's nothing that Harbaugh and the Giants will shy away from. Harbaugh embraced the lofty expectations during his introductory news conference Tuesday, noting the goal is to earn the right to be called world champs in New York.

Dart was a major reason Harbaugh thinks it's possible and why he came to the Giants after doing extensive evaluations of all the quarterbacks from the available jobs.

"The quarterback is kind of important. That's kind of a big deal," Harbaugh said. "I'm excited about Jaxson Dart. ... I like the way he plays. I like his talent, skillset, all the things he's accomplished, but more than that, I like who he is and what he's about. To me, he's about football."

Dart was equally impressed. Their face-to-face meeting during Harbaugh's interview at the team facility was going so well that it had to be broken up because it was running too long. One source indicated that conversation lasted almost two hours. They both left impressed with each other.

Harbaugh's track record setting up the right environment for a young quarterback to develop is strong. He oversaw the development of Joe Flacco and Lamar Jackson during his time in Baltimore. It's more than enough reason for Dart to be excited, aside from Harbaugh's teams reaching the playoffs in 12 of 18 seasons and winning a Super Bowl.

"Obviously just from a football standpoint, [he has] the ability to create teams year in and year out who have a chance to compete at the highest level regardless of maybe the talent that they had one year versus the next," Dart said. "He's always put his team in really good situations to win. So that's a coach that I really want to play for. And as a man as well."

Dart said he hasn't yet spoken to Jackson, Baltimore's two-time MVP winning quarterback. He did speak to former Giants and Ravens wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who offered rave reviews after spending the 2023 season in Baltimore.

The young quarterback who was announced Thursday as a finalist for Offensive Rookie of the Year was overwhelmed that Harbaugh was so enamored with his game. Dart accounted for 24 total touchdowns and seven turnovers his rookie season.

"Yeah, I mean, that says a lot," Dart said. "That says a lot just because you want to play for a coach who has confidence in you."

Harbaugh has been busy the past few days trying to assemble his staff for the Giants. The belief is that he wants to bring Todd Monken along with him from Baltimore as the offensive coordinator to work with Dart, assuming Monken isn't hired as the Cleveland Browns' head coach.

Dart said that there has been "a lot of communication he's been part of" involving the coaching search. But he's technically still a rookie and nobody is asking him who to hire.

If they did, Harbaugh would have been his answer as the head coach. Definitively. His meetings with the new head coach only validated that belief.

"He was just a coach who I feel like I just bought into the things that he was saying immediately, and just the way that he carries himself and can conduct himself in front of a room and his track record is incredible," Dart said. "So immediately the winning culture, the intensity, and then just the enthusiasm and love about football, that's what he carries and brings to the team. So just can't wait to get started and get rolling with him."