It's the cycle that never ends. It feels like every time we blink there's a new update on the John Harbaugh sweepstakes, and this will continue to be the case until he chooses his destination. However, that's still a ways away, as he only conducted his first in-person interview this afternoon.
Harbaugh's interview with the New York Giants was the latest of several attempts to sway him to New York, but he still has to meet with the Tennessee Titans and Atlanta Falcons. The Giants tried to get him to commit before he left the facility, but failed, and Harbaugh will be in Nashville later today,
John Harbaugh will fly out of Teterboro airport very soon back to his home, where he is scheduled to meet with the Tennessee Titans decision makers on Thursday, sources tell me. The meeting will serve as a formal in-person interview with the Titans at Harbaugh’s residence
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) January 14, 2026
This means that the Dirty Birds are his final interview of the three, which could be a good thing, but also could be a bad thing. By the time he speaks with them, he could already have his mind made up, but for all we know, the 63-year-old could already be dead set on becoming the Giants' head coach.
John Harbaugh left New York without a visit, but the Falcons are running out of time to change his mind
On the bright side, we don't know if the Falcons are getting the Titans treatment and are being forced to fly to Baltimore to meet with him, or if they are actually bringing him out to the facility like the Giants did, but Matt Ryan's previous relationship with him can't possibly be used against them.
The Super Bowl-winning head coach has made his fair share of demands after being fired by the Baltimore Ravens, but the Giants seem prepared to follow through. Meanwhile, the Falcons just hired Matt Ryan to be the president of football, so their coaching search is only now starting to ramp up.
There's nothing that Arthur Blank would love more than to bring the veteran coach to Atlanta, but it'll be easier said than done. The Falcons' roster is the best of them, but even though they're most built to contend, the Titans and Giants both have high 2026 draft picks and a franchise QB to build around.
Despite the Falcons boasting a strong young nucleus, there are still question marks about Michael Penix Jr.'s suitability as the long-term answer at QB. And given the reports that Harbaugh covets QB stability, he's also a fan of both Jaxson Dart and Cam Ward, so that's where their campaign falters.
The Giants had Eli Manning and former head coach Brian Daboll praise Dart to Harbaugh, so that's gonna be a tough pitch to beat, especially when Chris Mara is flying out to Baltimore to take him to lunch and Dart is sitting in on the meetings. That isn't something you do for one-sided interest.
Big Blue has been catering to his every request, so even though he hasn't made up his mind, Atlanta is a threat in the Harbaugh sweepstakes—even if we know how this story will likely end.