John Harbaugh was the head coach for the Baltimore Ravens for 18 seasons. He won one Super Bowl. However, many feel he has underachieved because he had a superstar QB in Lamar Jackson and did not make it to the Super Bowl with him. Harbaugh only made it to one AFC Championship game with Jackson at QB.
His tenure with the Ravens came to an end after losing to the Steelers in week 18 and not making the postseason.
Conflicting reports from two of the most prominent figures in NFL media surfaced regarding whether Harbaugh lost the Ravens locker room.
Ian Rapoport Reports John Harbaugh Lost The Ravens Locker Room
On the NFL Network, Ian Rapoport had the following to say on John Harbaugh’s departure from Baltimore.
“Yeah, a dramatic decision did not come about in a matter of minutes,” Rapoport began. “It really was the product of several conversations between Eric DeCosta, the general manager, between John Harbaugh himself, between players, soliciting plenty of opinions from players, from coaches. And yes, it did seem like John Harbaugh himself, to my understanding, was surprised, felt he was in good standing, wanted to run it back with his current staff, including offensive coordinator Todd Monken, including defensive coordinator Zach Orr, planned to be with the Ravens for years to come, until he was informed that he is out.”
“Now, as far as why John Harbaugh is out, among the reasons, it is not just they didn’t go far enough in the playoffs. My understanding, after talking to several sources involved, is that simply Harbaugh lost the locker room. At the end, players just simply had doubts about whether or not they wanted to play for him as their head coach. The opinions of players, Judy (Battista), was valued here, it was listened to. It went to all levels. And it’s not just Lamar Jackson.”
“Now, it started, it sounded like to me, with Harbaugh and Lamar Jackson not being on the same page, and it continued throughout the locker room,” Rapoport continued. “Maybe not a hundred percent, but more than enough for the Baltimore Ravens to say, among the reasons to move on, this was a big one.”
“Just considering the landscape of candidates, we’ve talked about how there’s no Ben Johnson, there’s no one guy that everyone wants to hire,” Rapoport said. “Well, John Harbaugh is an excellent coach. He is a Super Bowl winner. He has led a consistent franchise for many, many years, nearly two decades. And everybody would like to hire him. I mean, that’s just as simple as it gets. Obviously, it ran its course in Baltimore.”
“But, you have teams like the Giants, you have teams like the Raiders, the Cleveland Browns,” Rapoport elaborated. “Many, many teams will be interested in John Harbaugh. He is an excellent coach. He is a solidifying force. I mean, he’s just somebody that everybody would want to hire. Now, hiring the key coordinators would obviously be a big part of it, because he’s not a play-caller, not a coordinator. But as far as a leader of men, I don’t know in this cycle that there is one held in a higher regard.”
However, despite Rapoport reporting all this, ESPN’s Adam Schefter has refuted Rapoport’s report.
Adam Schefter Refutes Rapoport’s Claim John Harbaugh Lost The Ravens Locker Room
On the Pat McAfee show, on a rare occasion, Adam Schefter directly refuted someone’s report. He basically said Rapoport’s report is incorrect.
“I don’t think that information right there could be any less true,” Schefter said. “The players were coming to his office crying, hugging him, sending him goodbyes, calling him one by one.”
Schefter said the change was made more for the sake of change.
“Sometimes, nobody does anything wrong, you go on for 18 years, and it’s time for everybody to go a different direction. It’s OK. Nobody has to do something wrong. There doesn’t have to be some salacious reason. There doesn’t have to be some fight or something like that. Sometimes, it could just be they fell short the past few years.”
Schefter’s Report Sounds More Reasonable
For a head coach to be with a team for 18 years, it is hard to believe Harbaugh lost the locker room.
He has been successful with Baltimore, but lately has not had the ultimate success. With Lamar Jackson at QB, expectations entering each season with Jackson have been Super Bowl, and Harbaugh and the Ravens failed to deliver.
Still, while it is possible the relationship with Jackson may not have been great, it is tough to believe Harbaugh lost the locker room.
Schefter is not going to refute someone’s report unless he is fully confident in his report.
