Before the ink is even dry on his contract, John Harbaugh is already making his mark on the New York Giants. His first order of business in New York isn’t about the roster, but about securing the play-caller he trusts to develop the Giants’ next quarterback.

“Former Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken is expected to join John Harbaugh in New York with the Giants, per a source. This has always been the plan,” as was reported on X by Senior NFL insider for The Athletic, Dianna Russini.

Harbaugh was relieved of his duties on January 6 after 18 years with the Ravens. As his first move as the Giants’ head coach, he reportedly invited his longtime offensive coordinator, Todd Monken, to the new zip code. Harbaugh and Monken have worked together for the last three seasons at Baltimore.

Quarterback Jaxson Dart’s development is important for the team and Harbaugh’s success. So, choosing the offensive coordinator will be paramount. That’s where Monken might come in. He has witnessed at the collegiate level as well as the NFL and is a creative play-caller. Back in 2021 and 2022, Monken was in charge of two National Championship offenses for the Georgia Bulldogs and even helped assimilate Lamar Jackson into a Pro-Style passer in 2023 and 2024.

His offense in Baltimore was one of the best: It ranked first in red zone touchdown percentage at 67.9 percent, as well as rushing yards per game at 172.1, and passer rating at 110.8.

As per reports, Harbaugh had been fighting the Ravens so that they would allow Monken in Baltimore, and that is believed to be one of the reasons the franchise fired Harbaugh. So, it makes sense that the head coach would take him to New York.

Monken has been an OC for seven seasons in the league and has worked with Tampa Bay, Cleveland, and Baltimore. He remained with the Ravens for three seasons before his ultimate firing.

Why did John Harbaugh pick the Giants?

The Giants’ signing of the head coach with a 180-113 record got the Ravens Flock hyped up. Harbaugh had a lot of offers from the head-coach-hungry league right now. The 63-year-old had interest from the Titans, Falcons, and Giants. But he visited New York first on January 14, edging out interim head coach Antonio Pierce, who had openly lobbied for the job on CBS.

Per Russini, Harbaugh studied the film of Jaxson Dart and Cam Ward. He “told at least one person the film study [of Dart] gave him a lot to be excited about,” Russini reported. That’s why the coach was already studying the clips; Dart’s potential hooked him on New York’s future.

He never made it to his interviews with the Titans and the Falcons.

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As per reports, the deal is expected to be a five-year contract with a total value that nears $100 million. If the chatter is true, it will make him top the list of highest-paid coaches along with Kansas City Chiefs’ Andy Reid. Plus, the Giants won’t mind paying him a big sum.

Ravens, under Harbaugh’s leadership, had a 90% or greater win probability in 58 games. Now, that’s more than twice the games (26) that the Giants won in the past five years. So, it will be interesting to see what Harbaugh can accomplish with the Giants and Dart.

The quarterback played the best he could, but from holding the ball in the pocket and from running often, he was hit a total of 148 times in 14 games. That’s dangerous, considering it is more than 10 hits per game. That’s something that Harbaugh might want to look at and even Monken, if h ends up joining the Giants.