Jaxson Dart was not in attendance for the New York Giants’ official introductory press conference for John Harbaugh on Tuesday. The 22-year-old quarterback played a significant role in the Giants’ pursuit for Harbaugh. Dart was present when the Giants brass met with Harbaugh. As New York’s cornerstone QB, Dart was pivotal in Harbaugh choosing the Giants over all the other options he had.
The Baltimore Ravensfired Harbaugh after they missed the NFL playoffs for the first time in four seasons. As soon as Harbaugh’s 18-year stint in Baltimore officially ended, teams across the league made their respective moves to try to recruit the Super Bowl-winning coach.
The Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns, Tennesse Titans and Las Vegas Raiders were all named as potential landing spots for Harbaugh. In the end, however, the 63-year-old picked Dart and the Giants.
ESPN’s Jordan Raanan interviewed Dart on Thursday, and the former Ole Miss Rebels star expressed his excitement on working with his new coach. Dart revealed that he spoke with Harbaugh “at length” on the phone and in person.
When asked about his expectations in this new era of Giants football, the incoming second-year QB kept it simple.
“Winning! Whole lot of winning. That’s it,” Dart said.
Ranaan also reported the reason why Dart skipped Harbaugh’s unveiling. According to the ESPN reporter, the 6-foot-2 QB is currently on a family vacation celebrating his grandmother’s birthday. The report did not indicate where the vacation is, but it’s a good enough reason for Dart to miss the Harbaugh event.
Harbaugh himself has had nothing but good things to say about his new quarterback.
“It starts with the quarterback for sure,” Harbaugh said during his introductory press conference. “You build your team around your quarterback. You build your team around your players and what they do well.
“I like the way (Dart) plays. I like his talent, skill set, all the things he’s accomplished, but more than that, I like who he is and what he’s about. To me, he’s about football. This young guy loves football. He wants to talk football all the time and that’s kind of what I like doing too. So, I think we’re going to have a lot of great conversations. I can’t wait to get started with him.”
Dart played 14 games in his rookie year for the Giants, starting 12 of them. During that stretch, he produced 216-of-339 completed passes (63.7%) for 2,272 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions. Dart also added 487 yards on the ground and nine rushing TDs.
Dart recorded a QB record 4-8 in 2025. The Giants expect to see a significant improvement on this next season with Harbaugh now at the helm.
