John Harbaugh Admits His Biggest Coaching Mistake

John Harbaugh is a Super Bowl champion and one of the best coaches in the NFL. He's likely to have a bust at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, someday.

But he can still remember his biggest mistake from his four-plus-decade coaching tenure.

Harbaugh recalled reaming a young player at Western Michigan and why he still considers it his biggest mistake as a leader.

Harbaugh answered Giants fans' questions about leadership to with The Athletic and will continue to do so throughout his first season as head coach.

John Harbaugh 'Overreacted' as a Young Coach at Western Michigan

Harbaugh is set to enter his 19th NFL season as a head coach with the Giants in 2026. He has been coaching since 1984 and has been working on NFL staffs since 1998 — or longer than most of his players have been alive.

But Harbaugh still cringes thinking back to his first year at Western Michigan, where he was "out of line" on a freshman who was not in shape.

"I thought I knew something, and when I played, that was the type of thing that wasn’t hard for me," Harbaugh told The Athletic. "So it was hard for me to understand why it was so hard for him.

"I made the uncharitable assumption that he wasn’t in shape. I said some demeaning things, and I really felt bad about it."

Many old-school coaches, especially in those days, would feel entitled to demean a player. But an older coach put Harbaugh in his place, which prompted him to apologize.

"One of the veteran coaches let me know later that I was out of line. I talked to the player about it, and I apologized," Harbaugh said. "It was one of the very first days of me as a coach, a man and I never forgot. Not that I didn’t make mistakes after that, but I’ve always remembered that one."

John Harbaugh Detailed What He Learned From That Mistake

Giants fans have had to watch thin-skinned, egomaniacal head coaches run their program into the ground, especially over the past decade.

But the Giants finally have an adult in the room in Harbaugh, who continues to show maturity and growth from his experiences. He explained what he learned from that interaction at WMU all those years ago.

"It’s about them and not you as a coach," Harbaugh said. "It’s about your player. It’s about your pupil. If you make it about you, then you’re making a big mistake."