Odell knew Giants needed a coach like Harbaugh
Odell Beckham Jr. tells Chris Simms why he wanted to return to the New York Giants, unpacking how he manifested someone like John Harbaugh as head coach and why now is the time to return to the field.
Video Transcript
As far as what you just brought up, being back with the Giants, I saw you at the owners meeting.
You were meeting with the Giants decision-makers, and I interrupted the meeting and came up and hugged you and said hi- Yeah 'cause I hadn't seen you in a while.
But kinda tell us, how did this relationship kinda start with the Giants, and when did you kinda put them back on your radar as a place you wanted to go to?
You know, I remember getting a, a, a private phone call and, they were just kinda asking about, you know, the coach or the culture, what it is.
You know, I've sat back from, from afar for a long time, and I've seen the Giants, and I've seen how it kinda went and, you know, it's no, like, disrespect to any of the coaches that they hired, but Giants fan base and media is a different thing, and it takes a lot, you know, for, for a man to be able to handle that and to be in the head role.
And, when you don't have success, you get to see a lot of, you know, true colors and people come out and, you know, Giants have had some, some other head coaches where things just didn't go their way.
And around this time I was telling them, "You need a guy who's a legend.
You need a guy who establishes culture."
and, and when I brought up Harbaugh, I was just speaking about who I seen him as a man, as a leader, you know, a man of God.
He, he, he sets the co- the tone and the culture the right way, and he, he's just somebody who I've been a fan of, who I've grown to, to love and admire.
And I told them, I said, "This is a guy, this is a icon.
This is someone who, who could wear that NY proudly, and who could get things turned around."
You know, whether that's first year, the second year, whatever it is, like, he's a guy who, who I truly believe in, and I think he's establishing and setting a tone, for what he expects, and you can kinda see it through the rest of the players.
And I just think he's done a tremendous job so far and, and, you know, only time could tell where it's gonna go with that.
Yeah, I Well, first off, that's amazing.
The, the, the You talked about Harbaugh going to the Giants with somebody there in the know before it even happened, and that's where I kinda wanted to ask you about.
You answered kinda what you like about Harbaugh.
What has Harbaugh made different about the Giants that you see this time around compared to your, you know, your first rodeo with the f- the football team?
Yep.
Well, for me, you know, I love Tom Coughlin.
You know, whether right or wrong, wrong, he, he could bring me in that office, he could yell at me behind closed doors, but I had so much respect for him that it was like I took it as if it was a father figure or, you know, your grandpa, I guess.
Um- someone who, who you could sit there and listen and be like, "I got you," like, "I understand," like, "Let me, let me tighten up and be better."
and you kinda get that same feeling with Coach Harbs.
And, and like I said, it's just truly a blessing to be able to be here, to have the opportunity to be able to fight, you know, for what you love and you believe in.
You know, I came back, this is for myself, my son, my family, but I, I, I've never given up or quit anything in my life, and I feel like the way Even though it was a very strong decision to be able to walk away and to put something down that you love so much that had kind of became harmful to me, to be able to put that down for a second and walk away and then regroup, it, it's just only made me stronger as a man, as a person, to be able to figure out myself, flaws, strengths, all of those things.
Like I say, I'm just truly blessed to be able to have some of that time to reflect and then to be given- Yeah another chance, to, to, to fight for myself a- and what I believe, in my ability and, and that I could do.
