Photo: Getty Images North America
For football fans around the country, this weekend means it’s time to focus on the first round of the playoffs. Those games may not mean as much to New York football fans, however, as the Giants and Jets finished a combined 7-27. The Giants have an electrifying quarterback in Jaxson Dart and some other blue chip youngsters, so they began looking for a new head coach this week- then came the bombshell news Thursday that the Baltimore Ravens fired longtime head coach John Harbaugh after they had a disappointing year. Suddenly, fans of Big Blue had a vision: Harbaugh on the sidelines at the Meadowlands, barking out the plays to Dart and watching the winning start.
Gary Myers is the former NFL columnist for the New York Daily News and author of several books on football, including the recently released “Brady vs. Belichick: The Dynasty Debate”. He appeared on 710 WOR’s Mendte in the Morning program to analyze the X’s and O’s that have to play out before Giants fans can have their wish.
“The Giants have, if it’s not the most attractive opening, then it’s 1A,” Myers told host Larry Mendte. “But when you compare the Giants to the other six teams that are going to be interested in Harbaugh, you mentioned it, Larry, they have the exciting young quarterback in Jaxson Dart, and the coach and the quarterback are the two most important people in any organization. So, if you can walk into a team that already has it’s 22, 23-year-old quarterback who we all think is going to be really, really good, that’s half the battle right there; then you just have to draft wisely and sign some good free agents and you can turn things around really quickly in the NFL.”
Myers also shot down the likelihood that the dysfunctional Miami Dolphins could convince Harbaugh to pick South Beach over South Orange: “Miami, to me, other than the fact that there’s no state taxes and the weather is warm and there are some great beaches- none of that have anything to do with football… [However] I think the Giants are a quick turnaround because they do have a core group of really young talent.”
Photo Credit: Getty Images