Perhaps New York Giants fans took the Eli Manning-Tom Coughlin era for granted.From Nov. 21, 2004, through Jan. 3, 2016, that was the only quarterback–head coach tandem Big Blue had. Since then, including interims, they have had 17 — and five alone this season.The Giants organization today looks unfamiliar compared with years past, but with the hiring of John Harbaugh, Eli Manning thinks the franchise could return to what it’s supposed to be.CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM “It couldn’t have worked out any better,” Manning told Fox News Digital in a recent interview regarding Harbaugh’s hire. “I knew the Giants had to hire a new coach, you’re just like, ‘Hey, you need someone with head coaching experience and a guy who’s been in this situation, who’s going to know how to deal with the New York media, who’s going to kind of take over as the CEO of not just the team, but the whole organization and the whole building around the Giants. The problem is that person probably doesn’t exist. He’s not out there.'”And then, all of a sudden, there’s John Harbaugh sitting there. It’s just unbelievable, a person that’s had great success in the NFL. It just could not be a better fit. I’m so excited for him, I’ve had some long conversations with him about this, and I think he’s gonna do an unbelievable job and excited about getting the Giants back on track.”Owner John Mara has taken the brunt of the criticism, understandably, regarding the Giants’ ongoing downward spiral, even dating back to Manning’s days. Manning was benched for Geno Smith in 2017, ending his Iron Man streak. The following April, the Giants, fresh off a 3-13 season, drafted Saquon Barkley over Josh Allen and Sam Darnold (Lamar Jackson was picked 32nd) to try to get Manning one more ring. Then there were the general manager hires of Dave Gettleman and Joe Schoen and the coaching hires of Ben McAdoo, Pat Shurmur, Joe Judge and Brian Daboll. During that time, they also faced criticism for ignoring a domestic violence case involving former kicker John Brown, and other draft picks have faltered.Despite the apparent mistakes, nobody wants the Giants to win more than Mara, and Manning knows that — admittedly, to a fault.ELI MANNING TAKES ON YET ANOTHER JOB AS HE TEASES POSSIBLE OLYMPIC APPEARANCE”That’s why I wanted to come to this franchise 20-plus years ago, because you saw their commitment to doing whatever possible to win a championship. That’s all they care about, is putting a great team out there. That was my idea of them before I got to the Giants. And after being this organization for the last 20 years, I can confirm that that is all they care about,” Manning said. “They do everything for the players, for the coaches, for the people in the building that have been there, and there’s a reason people have been working there for 30 and 40 years. It is family. And the Maras and the Tisches, that’s all they care about, is putting a great product out there, getting the b
Eli Manning dishes on state of the Giants after ‘unbelievable’ John Harbaugh hire
