​This is Part 8 of 26 in Art Stapleton’s New York Giants summer series Q&A. The New York Giants boast a Super Bowl-winning head coach with potential Hall of Fame credentials in John Harbaugh, a leader the team believes can elevate them to a championship standard the franchise has long strived for but not yet achieved. The standing ovation Harbaugh received from Giants fans at Beacon Theatre during the team’s May Town Hall event was merely the opening act in what promises to be a continuing narrative.
Harbaugh, who is ushering in a new era for the franchise in its 102nd year, clearly knows how to captivate his audience. After the event, he faced a question from a fan amid chants of “Cowboys suck” about whether the Giants would stop being pushed around by their NFC rivals—the Dallas Cowboys, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Washington Commanders. With 193 career victories behind him, Harbaugh answered with a rallying commitment that felt almost like a battle cry he will repeat throughout the season.
“I could not care less about what happened last year, or the year before that, or ten years before that,” Harbaugh said. “All I care about is tomorrow’s practice, because if tomorrow’s practice is the way it’s supposed to be, that will be one more step in the direction of being a good enough football team to kick the Cowboys’ ass.”
For now, the questions are plentiful and the answers scarce. Yet we aim to lay the groundwork for the summer and beyond with 26 questions that will help define the 2026 Giants season. And yes, there’s reason to talk about potential optimism with no official NFL-wide rankings of position rooms. Harbaugh’s proclamation two months earlier that the Giants boasted the league’s best tight end group wasn’t just a crowd-pleasing line; there are substantive reasons to believe the offense will be structured to maximize the strengths of players who fit well together.
Likely’s presence could reshape how the Giants approach their schemes. He may see significant time in the slot, with Johnson used in the traditional tight end role. The 6-foot-4, 241-pound Likely had a down 2025, recording 27 receptions for 307 yards and a touchdown. Those numbers typically don’t command a substantial free-agent contract (think around three years and $40 million), but it’s clear Harbaugh wanted him in this offense. Two years ago, before the foot injury that hampered him last season, Likely posted 42 receptions for 477 yards. This is a development path that could be central to the Giants’ plans as they prepare for the upcoming season.