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SPOTLIGHT: NFL

Harbaugh poised to be Giants' next coach

BY MARK MASKE

John Harbaugh is headed to the New York Giants, with the first move of this NFL hiring cycle involving one of the most prominent coaches available.

The Giants and Harbaugh were working Thursday to complete a contract, according to two people familiar with the deliberations. Barring any last-minute complications, Harbaugh was expected to land with the Giants as the successor to Brian Daboll, the coach they fired in November.

Harbaugh, who was fired last week by the Baltimore Ravens, visited the Giants on Wednesday. He left without an agreement in place and was set to interview with other interested teams. Instead, the contract negotiations intensified late Wednesday and overnight. The two sides were still "working on it" Thursday morning to complete the deal, according to one of the people with knowledge of the discussions, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because no announcement of the hire had been made.

A meeting between Harbaugh and the Tennessee Titans that had been scheduled for Thursday was canceled as he worked on the deal with the Giants, according to the other person familiar with the talks.

Harbaugh spoke to each of the NFL teams with a coaching vacancy. The Titans and Atlanta Falcons appeared particularly interested. The Falcons said they interviewed him Monday.

But the Giants always seemed to be the favorite to get Harbaugh. They're a flagship NFL franchise located in the shadow of New York City, with a dormant winning tradition their next coach must recapture. Co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch are well respected within the league. The Giants also have a core of young talent on their roster that includes quarterback Jaxson Dart, who just completed a rookie season in which he provided glimpses of stardom but also an intensity and exuberance that too often bordered on recklessness.

The Giants retained Joe Schoen as their general manager when they fired Daboll. It was not immediately clear whether they will make any front-office changes to accommodate Harbaugh's arrival.

Schoen did well in last year's draft. The Giants selected pass rusher Abdul Carter third overall and then traded back up into the opening round to get Dart at No. 25. Dart took over as the starter in the season's fourth game.

His play temporarily energized the team and its fan base. But his scrambles from the pocket too often were punctuated by him lowering his head and taking on a tackler rather than sliding safely.

Harbaugh, 63, moves on to the Giants after 18 seasons with the Ravens in which they reached the playoffs 12 times, won six AFC North titles and reached four AFC championship games. They won the Super Bowl title in the 2012 season with Joe Flacco as their quarterback. Harbaugh beat his brother Jim, then coaching the San Francisco 49ers, in that game.