New York Giants: John Harbaugh Is the Adult in the Room

John Harbaugh has brought experience, credibility and a new attitude to the New York Giants, but can we please stop calling him the “adult in the room”?

Now that you’ve read the title, let me make one thing clear: I actually agree with the statement. John Harbaugh is the adult in the room. He brings decades of NFL experience, instant credibility and a proven track record to a Giants organization that desperately needed a change.

But can we please stop saying it?

It feels like “adult in the room” has become the go-to phrase anytime Harbaugh does something people like. He makes a tough roster decision? Adult in the room. He runs a demanding practice? Adult in the room. He holds a player accountable? There’s that adult in the room again.

We get it.

There are plenty of reasons to be excited about the Harbaugh era with the New York Giants. He’s an experienced head coach who has won at the highest level, commands respect and has already brought a noticeably different approach to the organization. We can praise all of those things without acting like the Giants were previously being run by children.

Was Brian Daboll a Child?

That’s the part of this whole narrative that makes me laugh. Every time Harbaugh makes a decision people agree with, we hear some version of, “That’s what happens when you finally have an adult in the room.” What exactly does that make Brian Daboll? Was he a 13-year-old kid babysitting the Giants for a few years?

It wasn’t that long ago that Daboll was being celebrated around the NFL. After leading the Giants to the playoffs and winning a postseason game in his first season, he was named AP NFL Coach of the Year. Things obviously didn’t work out in the end, and nobody is arguing otherwise. The Giants struggled, the losses piled up and eventually the organization decided it was time to move in another direction.

That happens in the NFL. Coaches get hired, coaches have success, things change and eventually some of them get fired. Daboll’s tenure ending badly doesn’t suddenly mean he wasn’t a professional or that nobody was running the building during his time in New York.

John Harbaugh Doesn’t Need the Label

What makes the phrase even more unnecessary is that Harbaugh’s résumé speaks for itself. The Giants hired a coach with years of experience running an NFL team, winning playoff games and dealing with all the personalities and pressure that come with being a head coach. There is no question that he brings a level of experience that the Giants haven’t had at head coach in a long time.

If the Giants look more disciplined under Harbaugh, say that. If practices are tougher and more competitive, talk about it. If players are being held more accountable or roster decisions are being handled differently, point those things out. Those are actual football observations and legitimate examples of how Harbaugh could be changing the culture.

There are plenty of ways to describe what he is bringing to New York without repeating “adult in the room” every five minutes.

These Are Professional Football Players

There’s another part of this narrative that gets overlooked: the players are professionals, too. They shouldn’t need someone to walk into the building and suddenly teach them how to act like adults. These are NFL players competing for jobs, contracts and championships, and accountability should already be part of the expectation.

Harbaugh can absolutely establish a different culture. He can demand more from his players, increase the level of competition and change the expectations inside the building. He can also bring the confidence and experience that comes from having already been through just about everything an NFL head coach can experience.

That’s coaching, and that’s where Harbaugh’s impact should be measured. The idea that the Giants suddenly became a professional football organization because one person walked through the door, however, is taking things a little too far.

A New Giants Era Doesn’t Mean Rewriting the Old One

I’m excited to see what Harbaugh can do with the Giants. There already seems to be a different feel around the team, and after the way the last few seasons ended, change was necessary. If Harbaugh can turn that change into wins, nobody is going to care what phrases were being used during training camp.

We also don’t have to tear down everyone who came before him to build Harbaugh up. Daboll had his opportunity, experienced some legitimate success early, things eventually went south and the Giants moved on. Now it’s Harbaugh’s turn to show what he can do with this roster.

Judge Harbaugh on the football, the culture he builds and, most importantly, the wins and losses. There should be plenty to talk about along the way without recycling the same tired description every time he makes a good decision.

John Harbaugh might very well be the adult in the room. Just please, can we stop saying it?