The Carolina Panthers are riding on the crest of a wave right now. They may have lost in the wild-card round, but head coach Dave Canales' squad emerged with exceptional credit for pushing the Los Angeles Rams right to the limit.
Attention now turns to the offseason. And the Panthers got their first massive win quickly without lifting a finger.
There was trepidation among the fan base when the Atlanta Falcons became a strong contender to hire John Harbaugh after his prolific spell with the Baltimore Ravens concluded. The respected leader of men narrowed his shortlist down to three teams, according to reports, and Carolina's bitter NFC South rival was one of them.
Carolina Panthers won't have to face John Harbaugh twice a season after major decision
It's not hard to see why Harbaugh may have been enamored with the Falcons. They have some exceptional offensive pieces. They have a young, ascending defense. They also finished the campaign encouragingly after a sluggish start, although that wasn't enough to prevent head coach Raheem Morris from being fired.
Atlanta fans were expectant. But their dreams of landing Harbaugh have fallen by the wayside.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the New York Giants are finalizing the finer details to make Harbaugh their next head coach. An official announcement is seemingly imminent, and reports also suggest that Todd Monken will be joining him at MetLife Stadium almost immediately.
This represents a significant coup for the Giants. And the fact that Harbaugh chose New York over Atlanta is great news for the Panthers.
The last thing they needed was a tone-setter with proven playoff credentials joining the Falcons. The Panthers are the reigning division champions. Things will be more difficult as the hunted team, but their lives are much easier without Harbaugh to worry about in Atlanta.
Harbaugh was the main prize. Almost everyone was waiting for his decision, and now the dominoes should fall elsewhere. The Falcons were hoping to make their pitch a little later in the week. Now, they must turn their attention to other targets with the Super Bowl winner bound for the Big Apple.
It's still an attractive job. Harbaugh felt like the Giants were a better fit, with the pieces in place to make the sort of instant improvements Dan Quinn attained with the Washington Commanders and Mike Vrabel is currently navigating on the New England Patriots. They have contingencies in place, but this was always their top priority.
And nobody associated with the Panthers will be sad to see Harbaugh take his chances elsewhere.