As the new head coach of the New York Giants, would John Harbaugh bring in Rex Ryan to call the defense?
John Harbaugh Talks Rex Ryan as a DC
Welcome to MetLife, John Harbaugh.
After 18 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, Harbaugh is now with the Giants. Harbaugh signed a five-year deal worth an estimated $100 million.
With the contract signed, Harbaugh must now fill out his staff.
Todd Monken, Harbaugh’s offensive coordinator with the Ravens, is one of the leading candidates to call plays for the Giants.
The defensive coordinator is more of a mystery. Zach Orr, Anthony Weaver, and Jim Leonhard are expected to garner interest from the Giants.
Would Harbaugh ever consider going back to one of his old defensive coordinators?
During an appearance with WFAN, host Evan Roberts asked Harbaugh if he would ever consider hiring Rex Ryan to be his defensive coordinator.
Ryan served as Harbaugh’s defensive coordinator with the Ravens in 2008 before departing to become the head coach of the New York Jets.
Ryan has not coached since 2016. However, Harbaugh isn’t ruling out a reunion with Ryan just yet.
“Why not? Could you imagine Rex coming back in here? How much fun would you guys have?” Harbaugh said on WFAN.“I’m not ruling anything out. A guy like Rex, he’s around the game, he knows the game. He’s going to have to get updated a little bit with some of the scheme stuff, but I’ll tell you, nobody calls a better game than Rex Ryan. He built great defenses, but he called a great game, and there’s a lot to be said for that.”
When Roberts asked if he thought Ryan still wants to be a defensive coordinator, Harbaugh smirked and said, “I don’t know, we’ll have to give him a call.
Rex Ryan Praises Giants for Harbaugh Hire
Harbaugh and Ryan clearly have a great relationship.
This past weekend, Ryan praised the Giants for hiring Harbaugh and believes he will be the right coach to get them back on track.
“This team right here is so talented,” Ryan explained. “If you go in to build an organization, you want to have a franchise-type quarterback. We’ll see. I think they might have one right there. You want a franchise left tackle to protect that quarterback. Check that box. You want a franchise No. 1 receiver. You can check that box. And by the way, you’ve got five guys who can absolutely rush the passer. You put the right guy in that situation, they may go to No. 1 in the league in defense.”
Ryan didn’t stop there. He went so far as to say Harbaugh will bring the Giants to the playoffs in 2026.
“To me, I think absolutely this is a playoff team,” Ryan added. “Look, John Harbaugh, his first year [2008 with Baltimore], rookie head coach, had a rookie quarterback and went to a championship game his first season. That’s happened, I think, five times in the history of the NFL.”
We’ll see if Harbaugh makes that call to interview Ryan.