Harbaugh: Can run RPOs, QB-driven runs with Dart

Garafolo added, “Other team leaders spoke up as well, and Dart and the players worked through it.” Dart caused a bit of a stir when he got on the stage at Rockland Community College to introduce Donald Trump for a political rally. Giants defender Abdul Carter took to X to voice his displeasure and offensive tackle Jermaine Eluemunor felt the need to clarify that the locker room was fine. Head coach John Harbaugh has reportedly spoken to Dart about the incident. Harbaugh himself has met with Trump previously, though in a much less public fashion. This story will eventually fade into the background, but it’s not a great start to Harbaugh’s tenure as the Giants’ head coach, nor Dart’s first season as the full-time starter.

Callahan reportedly made this the subject of one of their first meetings this offseason. That’s probably a good thing. Dart rarely hesitated to get physical as a scrambler and missed Weeks 11-12 due to a concussion. He was checked for concussions in multiple games. After taking over as the team’s starter in Week 4, he was the QB8 in per-game scoring, averaging 20.5 fantasy points per game. He still projects as a QB1, even if he slides on scrambles more often.

“It sounds like we’re not going to be throwing the ball a lot,” Dart said during a recent town hall with Giants fans and reporters when asked about how New York’s offense might look under new OC Matt Nagy. “We’re going to keep giving it to [Cam Skattebo] until they can stop it.” Skattebo said during the town hall that he was still learning to trust his surgically repaired ankle. He pledged to be ready to go for Week 1. If he’s not fully healthy for the season opener, look for Tyrone Tracy and perhaps Devin Singletary to take on bigger workloads.

We are once again waiting all day for a Sunday night. With the schedule release week officially upon us, the league announced on Monday that the Giants would kick off the season hosting the Cowboys for Week 1 of SNF. The John Harbaugh-led Giants will put their offseason rebuild on display on national television against a Cowboys team that finished 7-9-1 last season, largely due to their struggles on the defensive side of the ball. Both teams are hoping to show enough improvement to keep pace with the Eagles, who have finished first in the division two of the last three years.

Nagy landed with John Harbaugh’s team after three years as the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator and will now be charged with developing Dart in his second pro season. “When I think of Nagy with Jaxson Dart, I think of the spectacular season the new OC helped Alex Smith put together in 2017, with so many spread-offense elements baked in not just to maximize Smith but to develop Patrick Mahomes,” Breer said. “All the movement stuff the Chiefs were doing that year, in theory, should apply organically to Dart’s physical skill.” Kansas City ranked tenth in both offensive success rate and EPA per play over Nagy’s three seasons as OC. They were in line with the Dolphins and Seahawks in drop back EPA with Mahomes at the helm.

It’s quite the downgrade for Callahan after failing in his lone season at the helm in Tennessee. Callahan will now work with second-year QB Jaxson Dart to develop his game following a promising rookie season in which he threw for 15 touchdowns and five interceptions over 14 games, while rushing for another nine scores. Hopefully Callahan’s total inability to develop Cam Ward in Tennessee isn’t a harbinger of things to come for Dart and the Giants.

Nagy never worked directly with Harbaugh, but Schefter notes that Harbaugh coached under Andy Reid, who has been somewhat of a mentor to Nagy. The two have spent well over a decade together between Philadelphia and Kansas City. Reid even stumped for Nagy as a head coach this offseason. On the other hand, he just replaced Nagy, whose contract was up, with Eric Bieniemy as the team’s offensive coordinator. Nagy just spent three years in Kansas City and the team never finished better than 15th in points per game. Defenses have changed to stop teams like the Chiefs specifically, but the results speak for themselves. Perhaps the change of scenery will inject some creativity into Nagy’s offense, but we aren’t holding our breath.

John Harbaugh is expected to officially sign with the Giants later today. His refusal to move on from Monken was reportedly one of the reasons for his falling out with the Ravens. The Bucs are also interested in Monken for an OC gig. That would reunite him with Baker Mayfield after the two spent a year together in Cleveland. Of note, Jim Harbaugh also has an OC opening, though we suspect Monken will simply stick with John and head to New York. Though Lamar Jackson’s play fell off this year, Monken got an MVP season out of him and nearly picked up a second, though Josh Allen swiped the award at the final hour. The hope will be that Monken’s success with the hyper-mobile Jackson will translate to a second-year leap for Jaxson Dart. Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo would also get a boost in early drafts if Monken signs on.

McCarthy last coached the Cowboys in 2024 and has made the postseason in 12 of 18 seasons as an NFL head coach in Dallas and Green Bay. With a history of quarterback development and a QB-friendly offensive system, McCarthy would be a natural choice to develop Jaxson Dart as he enters his second NFL season. McCarthy, who has won 61 percent of his games as an NFL head coach along with 11 postseason contests, would likely be a short-term option for the Giants, one who could stabilize the situation around Dart and give him a chance to establish himself as a high-end NFL starter.

Kingsbury’s work with young quarterbacks is certainly a selling point for both the Giants and Titans after Kingsbury’s success with Jayden Daniels in 2024. Kingsbury’s Washington offense was surprisingly efficient in 2025 despite the team missing Daniels for much of the regular season. Washington’s offense in 2025 was somehow 16th in EPA per play. They were ninth in offensive success rate and 12th in yards per play, ahead of postseason teams like the Broncos, Panthers, Eagles, Chargers, Jaguars, and Steelers. Kingsbury would be a boon for either Jaxson Dart or Cam Ward in 2026 and beyond.