Busy Days Ahead For John Harbaugh As Direction On His Next Job Being Determined

John Harbaugh is currently the most accomplished coach in the entire NFL coach hiring cycle -- sorry, Mike McCarthy -- and he is clearly atop the wishlist of the New York Giants. So excuse the Giants fans if, for a fleeting moment Friday, they felt their top rival in the Harbaugh derby, the Miami Dolphins had hurt themselves.

Dolphins Hire Jon-Eric Sullivan As GM

The Dolphins hired Jon-Eric Sullivan as their new general manager on Friday. And on its face, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that choice. 

Sullivan follows a long line of outstanding Green Bay Packers personnel men that includes Ron Wolf, Ted Thompson, John Schneider of the Seattle Seahawks and most recently Eliot Wolf of the New England Patriots. 

He was Dolphins consultant and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman's top choice out of the Dolphins four finalists.

Sullivan Ties That Bind To Harbaugh?

But the truth is Sullivan, unlike another Dolphins GM candidate, didn't seem to have obvious ties to Harbaugh. And league insiders, trying to find ties with Sullivan as the Dolphins launch their coaching search, didn't immediately seem like an obvious pair with Harbaugh. 

Giants fans say, "Yippie."

Facts say, "Dig further."

Sullivan has worked 22 years for the Packers. He worked for former Green Bay Packers President and CEO Robert Harlan, who was with the Packers from 1971-2008. One of Harlan's sons is Bryan Harlan.

And Bryan Harlan is John Harbaugh's agent.

Does that bond Harbaugh to Sullivan and the Dolphins? No. But neither does it mean he has zero ties. If Harbaugh is unfamiliar with the Dolphins new general manager, one supposes his agent will have a sense of Sullivan's background.

(Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images)

Big Week And Weekend For Harbaugh

There is one catch: It is believed Harbaugh wants to pick his own general manager. That's hard for the Dolphins considering they just picked Sullivan. It is no less problem for the Giants that have Joe Schoen in that chair. 

So questions abound at the end of what has been a seismic week for Harbaugh. 

He was fired as the Baltimore Ravens coach on Tuesday. In the days following his dismissal, the reason for the parting began to point to something of a rift, a difference of opinion, he had with quarterback Lamar Jackson that led to owner Steve Bisciotti moving on from the coach after 18 seasons.

Simply, Jackson wanted a different approach out of the Ravens offense, per sources. Bisciotti asked Harbaugh to make that happen by moving on from offensive coordinator Todd Monken.

Harbaugh refused. Harbaugh instead wanted Jackson to focus on his training so that perhaps he could avoid the litany of injuries that limited him in 2025.

Bisciotti then moved on from Harbaugh.

Now, Harbaugh will spend the next couple of days studying potential landing spots and preparing for interviews that are expected to begin next week.

Oct 13, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA;   Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken on the field before the game against the Washington Commanders at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

Monken Has Regrets About Jackson

Monken, at the heart of the fissure, admitted on Thursday his relationship with the quarterback wasn't as strong as he wanted. And he pointed to Jackson's injuries as a problem for the team.

"I didn't coach Lamar well enough," Monken said Thursday on the "Ryan Ripken Show." "I didn't have as good of a relationship as I could have. I didn't do the things we needed to do this year to win enough games to give ourselves a chance. I believe that.

"Lamar and I, to me, had a good relationship. Could it have been better? Of course. [But] Lamar and I never had an issue."

Jackson didn't outright request Monken be fired but definitely wanted the offense to change to the extent he felt he could make more plays. Harbaugh had no intention of firing Monken.

Thus the disagreement that led to Harbaugh's ouster.

"I really wish Lamar would have been healthy and seen what we kept building on," Monken said. "Where we went from '23 to '24, and then we just never got it going. That's what you have to live with."