Giants' John Harbaugh Defends Calling Titans Owner About Jeffery Simmons Trade amid Criticism

The New York Giants sit atop the NFC East as the trade deadline approaches, and they attempted to make a move for one of the biggest stars on the trade market.

Giants head coach John Harbaugh confirmed to reporters Monday that he reached out to Tennessee Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk directly to inquire about defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, who was later traded to the Chicago Bears.

"I did, I did. I left a message," he said. "...Because you turn over every stone. You know, gonna try everything. I mean, I just, I'll put it out there, man, we're open for any call. Anybody wants to call us or call anybody. Call."

The Athletic's Jonathan Jones reported last week that Harbaugh had called Strunk about Simmons. It's standard to do business through a general manager rather than through an owner directly.

Harbaugh isn't concerned about breaking any unwritten rules.

"We're not like — we're not part of any secret society oath that says you can only talk to somebody. We're not in that," he said. "We didn't get memoed on that. 
We're not in that agreement. So like I said, anybody can call us. We won't be adhering to that particular agreement."

Ultimately, Harbaugh's direct effort to land Simmons didn't work out. The Bears sent a pair of first-round picks and a fourth-round pick to Tennessee in return for Simmons and a fifth-round pick.