Thursday’s “First Call” has a significant update on John Harbaugh’s future. A college football coaching name is being thrown out as a possible replacement for Mike Tomlin, while Jerome Bettis is endorsing a former AFC North coach.

And the Pittsburgh Penguins welcome the Philadelphia Flyers, with both teams looking to snap losing streaks.

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Home for Harbaugh

Former Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh is on the verge of becoming the next head coach of the New York Giants.

That’s the word from ESPN.com. Despite some details to be worked out, Adam Schefter is making it sound like the two sides are going to come together on a contract.

Harbaugh also interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons and was supposed to talk with Tennessee this week, but has apparently settled on New York being the best option.

Even though the Giants are 7-27 over the past two seasons, he’ll have some promising young skill position players to work with, such as Jaxson Dart, Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo.

After 18 years and 180 victories (including a Super Bowl), Harbaugh was fired after his team’s loss in Pittsburgh at the end of the regular season.

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Belief from The Bus

Former Steelers coaching rival Kevin Stefanski is getting an alumni endorsement from a former Steelers great.

Of all the potential coaches the franchise could hire to replace Mike Tomlin, Jerome Bettis mentioned Kevin Stefanski on Colin Cowherd’s FS-1 show Wednesday.

“I would like Stefanski in the sense that he understands this offensive world that we’re in,” Bettis said on “The Herd.” “He also obviously understands the defensive side, because he’s had a strong defense the entire time in Cleveland. So he would be a guy that I would look at.

Bettis admits that having the residue of recently coaching with a bad organization like the Browns may be a problem. But he thinks Stefanski’s positives outweigh that.

“The fact that he just came from Cleveland, may give a little pause, but in terms of an X’s and O’s coach, I think he is super talented and will be a (good) coach for the next organization that decides to give him an opportunity, especially if he can get a quarterback,” Bettis continued. “That’s the concern in Pittsburgh. You’ve got to get a quarterback.”

That’s something the Browns often lacked in Cleveland too, while Stefanski was coaching there.

The Philadelphia native was 45-56 during his six years in Northeast Ohio. He was fired at the end of this season.

The 43-year-old was a two-time NFL coach of the year winner there, getting the Browns to 11 wins in both 2020 and 2023. Prior to getting that job, he was the offensive coordinator in Minnesota.

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More sports

• Report: Steelers request interviews with 5 head coaching candidates
• Art Rooney II, Steelers ‘an open book’ in regards to what type of coach succeeds Mike Tomlin
• Mark Madden: Assessing the Mike Tomlin era, where Steelers go from here
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College candidate

Meanwhile, one college name that keeps popping up on the fringe of consideration is Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman.

That’s despite the fact that Freeman has insisted he wants to stay in South Bend.

Yet Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated insists he is someone who should be talked about in conversations about the Steelers’ coaching vacancy.

“If he’s going to leave Notre Dame, it’s for Ohio State or the NFL,” Breer insisted. “I don’t think he had any intention to go back on his word that he gave Notre Dame when the Giants and Titans did reach out and did express interest,” Breer said on Sports Illustrated’s YouTube Channel. “They’ve got a really good team coming back. I think if there’s one team that would give him pause and make him think, ‘Do I really want to walk away from this,’ and might cause him to go to Notre Dame, go back on (his) word, because it would be just too much. … I think it’s Pittsburgh.”

Breer thinks Freeman is in the Tomlin mold.

“He makes a ton of sense. He looks like a Steelers coach. He carries himself like a Steelers coach. He has the same sort of command that Mike Tomlin had. It makes a ton of sense,” Breer said.

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Freeman is 43-12 at Notre Dame. He is 40 years old. He played college football at Ohio State. He was a practice squad linebacker with the Bills and Texans in 2009, but had to retire prior to signing with the Colts before his second year due to an enlarged heart condition.

That’s when he got on a coaching path that took him through Kent State, Cincinnati and Purdue.

Bettis, who is also a Notre Dame alum, had this to say to Cowherd about Freeman and Pittsburgh.

“I think because of what you have to do in Pittsburgh, it’s a very dangerous job,” Bettis said via Steelers Now. “So I would not be in a rush to leave my cozy confines. I’ve got a really good program that I’ve created, we’re ready to go, we’ve got the players in place. I wouldn’t be in a rush to leave that.”

The Steelers have never shown much interest in hiring a coach out of college in the past. Tomlin, Bill Cowher and Chuck Noll were all former NFL assistants.

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Limping in

The Philadelphia Flyers aren’t exactly flying high as they come to Pittsburgh on Thursday evening. The Penguins will host their cross-state rivals at 7 p.m.

Philadelphia has lost four in a row and five of seven. That includes a 5-2 loss in Buffalo on Wednesday night.

Rasmus Dahlin scored twice along the way for the Sabres, who have won 14 times in their past 16 games.

Over their past four games, the Flyers have given up 19 goals.

Meanwhile, it hasn’t been great lately for the Pens. They have dropped three in a row and have only scored twice in those contests.

Both teams have played 45 games. Both teams have posted 52 points. The Sabres and Boston Bruins currently hold the NHL’s two wild card spots with 54 points apiece.

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LISTEN: Brian Metzer of the Pens Radio Network joins Tim Benz for our weekly hockey podcast.