Giants coach John Harbaugh tried to beat Bears to Jeffery Simmons trade with unusual phone call: report

Giants coach John Harbaugh tried to get in the game for former Titans star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons this week as the Bears pulled off a stunning trade to bring him to Halas Hall, The Athletic reported.

Oddly, though, Harbaugh circumvented the normal channels to negotiate.

After a conversation between Giants general manager Joe Schoen and Mike Borgonzi went nowhere, Harbaugh reached out directly to owner Amy Strunk to make a deal.

Bears general manager Ryan Poles, who completed the trade Thursday by sending the Titans two first-round picks, indicated his history working together with Borgonzi when they were with the Chiefs from 2009 through ’21 helped in the process.

“When you do a deal like this, it takes a lot of trust and collaboration,” Poles said. “And Mike is a guy that I have known a long time.”

If Borgonzi valued that relationship, as well as general protocol among team decision makers, he probably bristled at Harbaugh going over his head to the owner. Harbaugh might have his own fallout to handle after bypassing his own general manager to do so.

Poles said he, too, had been told that Simmons was not available for trade until Borgonzi surprisingly changed his mind this week.

Both the Bears and Giants are gearing up for a playoff push. The Bears are 5-2 heading into their game Monday at the defending champion Seahawks, while the Giants are 4-2-1 and are on their bye week.