John Harbaugh's potential deal with New York might just be confirmed, and it's all thanks to a restaurant.

Initially, reports said Harbaugh left the Giants' facility without a deal. But when the Elia Mediterranean Restaurant posted a picture of the ex-Ravens coach dining with Giants general manager Joe Schoe on January 15, it led fans to believe the deal was done.

"Congratulations to John Harbaugh on becoming the new Head Coach of the New York Giants. Wishing you nothing but success in this next chapter. Thank you to the entire New York Giants organization for always including us as part of the process — it truly means a lot. @Giants"

The restaurant in question is a big part of Giants history. It was where two-time Super Bowl-winning Bill Parcells held pre-draft meetings for the NFL before it was converted into Elia.

And according to the owner, Tim Salouros, the deal is nearly done. "When Joe walked in, you knew the deal was going to go down. It was the first time that they called me to tell me the timing. They told me he had to be on a flight at 7:30. Before the coach left, he said, ‘I’ll be back.’"

John Harbaugh was arguably the best available option. He has won a Super Bowl and led the Ravens to 12 playoff appearances. And after a 4-13 season this time around, and three years without a playoff appearance, makes Harbaugh the perfect.

But why did John Harbaugh choose the Giants?

Harbaugh wanted to go to the Giants even before he was fired. “I think this is the job for me,” he told at least one person, as reported by The Athletic's Ian O'Connor.

The Athletic also reported, "He was given a tour of the practice facility that included a meet-and-greet with quarterback Jaxson Dart, whose dual-threat talents on tape gave Harbaugh 'a lot to be excited about,' the coach told at least one person."

The Giants QB recorded a passer rating of 91.7 with 2,272 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions in 14 games this season. He also had 487 rushing yards with 9 rushing TDs.

What do you think about Dart and Harbaugh pairing up in the 2026 season?

Written by

Reyansh Dubey

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar