John Harbaugh may be a 63-year-old coaching veteran, but at Giants rookie minicamp this weekend, he felt like a first-year player all over again. The new New York head coach is still getting acclimated to his surroundings, and Saturday brought an unexpected lesson: the roar of planes landing at nearby Newark Airport can drown out even the most important press conference questions.

"Is that a normal thing?" Harbaugh asked, straining to hear as the noise reached a crescendo. "Think you'll have to speak up for me."

It was a small but telling moment for a coach who is already making big changes. The Giants are paying Harbaugh $20 million a year to overhaul the franchise, and he's approaching the job with the kind of meticulous attention to detail that has defined his career. From the outdoor podium setup in East Rutherford to the way his team practices, nothing escapes his notice.

That focus was on full display during a late-practice two-minute drill. As quarterback Jeff Sims—a tryout from Arizona State—hit wide receiver Michael Jackson (Purdue) with a deep pass up the left seam, Harbaugh didn't stay on the sideline. He walked straight into the middle of the offensive huddle.

"We were talking about the situation," Harbaugh explained. "All of our practices will have situational elements. Every play is a situation in football. But sometimes you need to take a minute and put it in perspective: 'We're in a two-minute period. We've got no timeouts. We're at the 50-yard line. We need to get in range.'"

It's that kind of hands-on, detail-oriented coaching that Giants fans are hoping will turn the tide. And if Harbaugh has anything to say about it, even the roar of passing planes won't distract from the mission at hand.