It’s the end of a long 18-year association between John Harbaugh and the Ravens. The first comment that comes to mind is that two seemingly opposing statements may be true: Harbaugh is a great head coach, but it was high time for him and the Ravens to divorce.
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Even though it had been in the air for a few weeks that Harbaugh could be in his last moments with the Ravens in the event of an absence in the playoffs or an early exit, the news still had the effect of a bomb. Owner Steve Bisciotti confirmed via a press release that this was a dismissal.
We’re talking about a bombshell, since Harbaugh had been stationed in Baltimore since 2008. He was part of the furniture. Only one head coach in the league has more longevity at the helm of his team, Mike Tomlin, who arrived with the Steelers a year earlier.
Harbaugh has won 180 games at the helm of the team, which is not only a franchise record, but gives him a 100-win lead over his closest pursuer in Baltimore, Brian Billick.
He currently ranks 14th in league history for number of wins.
On 12 occasions under his watch, the Ravens reached the playoffs and won the often very competitive North Division six times.
This shows the importance of Harbaugh in the history of the Ravens, he who gave them their second Super Bowl, at the end of the 2012 season.
Change needed
So why make another call when such a decorated pilot is in your backyard?
Because the Ravens have been treading water in recent years and not meeting expectations.
Because they reached the American Conference Finals only once despite the presence of quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Because even in the two seasons that Jackson won the NFL Most Valuable Player award, in 2019 and 2023, the Ravens suffered elimination at home as the favorite team.
Because, quite simply, the NFL is a businessof results and that coldly, the expected results are not there.
It’s not all on the shoulders of one coach or one quarterback, but if there’s one major blemish on Harbaugh’s stellar record, it’s that his team has blown away 16 fourth-quarter leads in the last five years. Not two, not four, not eight, but 16! This is a high in the NFL over this period and not exactly a high to boast about.
In recent weeks, credible journalists in Baltimore have suggested that the relationship between Harbaugh and Jackson is no longer in good shape. Maybe the organization simply chose to bank on its quarterback rather than a coach whose message is starting to crumble.
Perhaps Jackson will also follow, having requested to be traded in the spring of 2023, when a contractual impasse persisted with the organization.
The separation between Harbaugh and the Ravens, however, seems to indicate that Jackson remains the priority.
La suite pour Harbaugh
So it’s the end of a long era in Baltimore and in a way, in Pittsburgh too. The anger is so fierce between the Ravens and the Steelers that it is also a part of this rivalry that is disappearing.
Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin have faced each other 40 times since 2007, including four times in the playoffs. In NFL history, only Curly Lambeau (Packers) and George Halas (Bears) have experienced more driver clashes, with 49.
Harbaugh is 63 years old and certainly one or more of the other six teams with vacancies will contact him within minutes.
He’s in great shape and certainly hasn’t forgotten how to lead, but in today’s NFL, 18 years is an eternity. And an eternity in the same place is tiring.
It is very possible that Harbaugh, like Andy Reid who went from Philadelphia to Kansas City, will renew himself elsewhere.
Maybe a year on the sidelines recharging after such a long relationship wouldn’t do him any harm. That remains to be seen, because coaching is recognized as a hard drug.
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