Giants part with longtime executive one day after John Harbaugh introduced as head coach

The New York Giants parted with a longtime high-ranking executive just one day after introducing John Harbaugh as head coach.

Senior Vice President of Football Operations Kevin Abrams is leaving the organization. Abrams had been with the organization since 1999, and in a front office executive position since 2002 when he was assistant general manager.

Abrams had been a constant at the top of the organization throughout its bevy of general manager and coach firings over the last decade. Abrams' tenure in the front office spanned four general managers, including his own short stint as interim GM in 2017, and seven head coaches before Harbaugh.

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Harbaugh's arrival as head coach came with a different set of terms related to the organizational structure and his own power to shape it compared to previous Giants coaches.

Harbaugh is the first Giants coach who will report directly to ownership, bypassing a long-running team tradition of the coach reporting to the general manager.

Giants' Senior Vice President of Player Personnel Chris Mara told reporters Tuesday that Harbaugh will be the "most important cog in the wheel" for the organization now and suggested Harbaugh was a unique candidate with the leverage to negotiate such power.

"He's going to be the most important cog in the wheel. Let's put it that way. But in terms of final say, this is going to be a collaborative effort between ownership, general manager and coach," Mara said.

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"We're just comfortable doing this with him. I think with anybody else, maybe it might not have happened that way. Everyone was in agreement, so we're good."

Harbaugh was endorsed for the Giants head coaching job by President Donald Trump several days before the hiring in a Truth Social post. Trump also said Harbaugh should "take the job," in the endorsement. Harbaugh acknowledged Trump's endorsement in his introductory press conference Tuesday.

"It feels really great!" Harbaugh said, when asked by Fox News Digital how it felt to have the president's endorsement. "I also noticed in that post that he said, 'John take the job!' So I thought [owner] John Mara might've had something to do with that."

Trump praised Harbaugh and the Giants for the hire while speaking to Fox News Digital late on Monday night, and hinted at a personal connection with the Harbaugh family.

"I like the coach. I like his brother," Trump said. "They came up to see me about three months ago. They came up to see me in the White House with their mother and father because the mother likes me, and the father likes me and I think they like me. And he’s a great coach and he’s gonna do well with the Giants, just like his brother does so well. They got something very special in their blood. And I’m happy for the Giants. They got a great coach."

Fox News Digital’s Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.

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World Cup demand sparks lodging scramble in Kansas City

Kansas City is preparing for a surge of visitors as it gets ready to host World Cup matches this summer, with hotel availability and short-term rentals already tightening months before the first game kicks off.

Tourism officials estimate hundreds of thousands of visitors could pass through the metro during the tournament, while the city has roughly 36,000 hotel rooms. Some of those rooms are under contract with FIFA and unavailable to the general public, adding pressure to an already competitive lodging market.

That demand is pushing some locals to take unusual steps. Adam Kinner, a short-term rental host who owns multiple properties in the Kansas City area, says he even plans to rent out his own home during the World Cup and move in with his parents.

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"I will actually be moving back into my parents' basement," Kinner told FOX. "The opportunity is just so large here that it would be silly not to take advantage of it."

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President and CEO for Visit Kansas City and the Kansas City Sports Commission, Kathy Nelson, says the city has been preparing for this moment for years and is closely monitoring hotel capacity as bookings accelerate.

"The energy, the excitement, the anticipation is unbelievable," Nelson said. "Everyone’s about to show up on our doorstep."

Nelson says Kansas City is one of the smallest host cities in the World Cup lineup, alongside major destinations like New York, Los Angeles, and Miami, but officials are confident visitors will spread out across the region to find places to stay.

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New hotel development is also racing the clock. A 45-room boutique hotel called River Market Hotel is set to open this spring, just weeks before matches begin. The hotel’s managing member, Mike Heitman, says the timing adds pressure but also opportunity.

"It’s exciting and scary at the same time," Heitman said. "There’s a good chance we will have been open by just a week or two."

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