How close did Giants come to losing John Harbaugh to Titans, different team?

While it seemed for days that former Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh would eventually accept the New York Giants' job, some wondered when no deal was signed through the start of the weekend if either the Tennessee Titans or the Atlanta Falcons could swoop in and steal Harbaugh from the Giants. 

It appears such a development may have been closer to playing out than outsiders realized on Saturday afternoon.

Titans, other teams were "ready to pounce" if Giants-Harbaugh marriage fell through

"In the tense Saturday hours before Harbaugh reached his five-year agreement for $100M plus lucrative bonuses, his agent, Bryan Harlan, was still communicating with the Titans, who were still interested in hiring his client," longtime New York sports reporter Ian O'Connor of The Athletic shared. "Harbaugh’s done deal with the Giants was not done. And the Titans weren’t the only NFL team ready to pounce if the unimaginable happened and the whole thing fell apart."

Previous reports suggested that Giants general manager Joe Schoen and team senior player personnel executive Chris Mara had reasons to celebrate after they took Harbaugh out for a dinner on Wednesday night. However, subsequent stories hinted that Harbaugh's to-be working relationship with Schoen had become an issue during contract negotiations. 

"Harbaugh needed it in writing that he would report to (Giants co-owner) John Mara, and not to Schoen," O'Connor explained. According to O'Connor, Chris Mara (John's younger brother) "secretly met with" Harbaugh on Friday at "an undisclosed location between New York and Baltimore" to help ease concerns had by the coach. 

In the end, John Mara was willing to give Harbaugh the level of power desired by the 63-year-old. 

"I think it’s always a little nerve-racking when you come down to the end of a tough negotiation," Chris Mara told O'Connor. "But I felt like I had a pretty good read on the connection that I had made with John Harbaugh. We shared the same vision and the same goal. So at the end of the day, it was all about, 'Let’s put a structure together that we are comfortable with.'"

Giants were right to cave to John Harbaugh before the weekend ended

On Monday, the Buffalo Bills surprised members of the NFL community when they fired head coach Sean McDermott. Buffalo's next head coach will get to work with star quarterback Josh Allen, so it's safe to assume Harbaugh could have at least had some interest in the Bills gig. 

Instead, the Giants have scheduled a Tuesday news conference to introduce Harbaugh as their next head coach. 

"We are going to compete for the playoffs and for championships," Harbaugh said about the Giants. "I expect and want to make the playoffs next year."