John Harbaugh isn’t backing away from the phone call that stirred up plenty of noise after the Tennessee Titans dealt Jeffery Simmons to the Chicago Bears.
According to Dan Benton of Giants Wire, the New York Giants head coach confirmed during his Week 9 media availability that he reached out directly to Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk rather than going through general manager Mike Borgonzi.
“I did, I did. I left a message because you're turning over every stone, going to try everything,” Harbaugh said.
“I mean, I’ll put it out there, man. We’re open for any call.
Anybody who wants to call us or call anybody, call.”
The move has raised eyebrows around the league, especially since Harbaugh clearly holds the power in New York, with long-time general manager Joe Schoen functioning more like a caddy than the final voice. In that light, handling business himself makes sense in one way, but it also comes off as a pretty bold show of confidence.
Harbaugh doesn’t seem bothered by the criticism. He brushed it aside with another pointed response:
“We’re not part of any secret society oath that says you can only talk to somebody. We’re not in that.
We didn’t get memoed on that. We’re not in that agreement,” Harbaugh said.
“So, like I said, anybody can call us. We won’t be adhering to that particular agreement.”
There may not be any official rule against the approach, but it still runs against the kind of good-faith expectations teams usually follow. Whether Harbaugh sees it as aggressive due diligence or just part of doing business, the call has clearly become a talking point.
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