One question New York Giants fans had when the team hired John Harbaugh as their head coach this past January was how he would get along with budding star quarterback Jaxson Dart.
One week into the team’s 2026 training camp, that question appears to have been answered. The two have a mutual respect that should develop into a strong long-term relationship.
“This guy’s a competitor, man. He’s a competitor,” Harbaugh said in an interview with Mike Garafolo and Brian Baldinger of the NFL Network at Saturday’s workout at The Greenbrier in West Virginia.
“I think I already knew that, but I’ve seen it firsthand. I’ve seen it play to play, day to day in the meeting room. Charismatic leader, loves ball. I mean, you know, from when you’re from afar, you don’t always know all the ins and outs of a guy. But this guy is obsessed with football. You know, he wants — he wants to know everything about everything all the time.”
There’s not much social activity happening in the hills of West Virginia during the little downtime the players and coaches have, so they have to get creative. Not Dart. He’s all business, says Harbaugh.
“You know, if you look for him, he’s either in the film room or he’s in his room. One of the two,” the coach said.
Earlier in the week, Dart told reporters that he loved Harbaugh’s intensity and looked forward to seeing how training camp would progress.
“He’s very observant. He’s very observant from every single facet,” Dart said. “From the offense, to the defense, the special teams. He has his hand in every single one of them, of his expectations. Things that he likes. I just think the really cool thing is he’s so open to communication, from the coaching staff to the players. I think that’s just been really cool to have that openness, no ego. Ultimately, he just wants to, obviously, win. He’s got a chip on his shoulder. I’m interested to see how his demeanor continues to grow as we go forward.”
Dart was asked if he has his own chip on his shoulder.
“Absolutely,” he replied. “Because we didn’t have a good year last year. I can’t wait for this upcoming year. This whole offseason I’ve just been waiting to get back with the guys. I really like where we’re at. We’ve got to continue to grow.”
These guys were made for each other.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: New York Giants’ John Harbaugh: Jaxson Dart is ‘obsessed with football’
Reporting by John Fennelly, Giants Wire / Giants Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By John Fennelly, Giants Wire | USA TODAY Network
