Ravens Part Ways with Super Bowl Winning Head Coach
Expected or unexpected, things are changing in Baltimore, and it begins with their coach. Announced via X on Tuesday evening, the owner, Steve Bisciotti, and the Baltimore Ravens have agreed to “mutually part ways” with head coach John Harbaugh after 18 seasons with the team. Less than a year after signing a three-year extension with Baltimore, the one-time Super Bowl champion head coach is now the hottest coach on the head coaching free agency market. In turn, Baltimore’s head coach opening is now one of the more desired destinations due to the roster makeup and history.
“Following a comprehensive evaluation of the season and the overall direction of our organization, I decided to make a change at head coach. Today, I informed John that he has been relieved of his duties,” owner Steve Bisciotti said in a statement. Bisciotti continued to praise Harbaugh on being a “steadfast pillar of humility and leadership”, adding he firmly believes Harbaugh will be in the Hall of Fame one day. “This was an incredibly difficult decision… we now begin the challenging, but exciting, process of identifying the next leader of our football team.
John Harbaugh joined the NFL as a special teams coordinator for the Eagles in 1998, switching to defensive back coach in 2007 to build his resume and increase his chances of getting into the driver's seat. After the Ravens fired Brian Billick in December of 2007, the two coaching options for Baltimore were Jason Garrett and John Harbaugh. Garrett went to the Cowboys, and Harbaugh landed with the Ravens. Harbaugh would walk into a franchise with Hall of Famers Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, and Terrell Suggs, who is a Hall of Fame finalist for the Class of 2026. The Ravens would draft Delaware QB Joe Flacco in the first round, pairing a rookie head coach and quarterback together. The duo would be the tied-first rookie head coach-QB duo to make the playoffs since 2000, tied with Matt Ryan and Mike Smith of the Falcons.
In 18 seasons with the Ravens, Harbaugh finished with a 180-113 record, winning 61.4% of his games. Harbaugh missed the playoffs six times, had a losing record in three seasons, and had a career-low five wins 10 years ago, which was the worst record in a single season under Harbaugh by three wins. On the other hand, Harbaugh led the Ravens to 12 playoff appearances, boasting a mediocre 13-11 record, but one Super Bowl victory in the 2012 NFL Season. On the brink of missing the playoffs for the fourth straight year and fifth time in six years, Harbaugh was in the hot seat, but luck changed when 2018 first-round pick Lamar Jackson stepped in for the injured Flacco, winning six of the last seven, making the playoffs, and showing hope for a team with a problematic offense.
Excluding the 8-9 season in 2025 and Lamar’s 6-1 record in 2018, the Harbaugh-Jackson duo went 68-32. While Jackson did not play for a handful of games due to rest or injury, the entire offensive scheme shifted to fit Lamar’s playstyle after over 10 years of Flacco leading the charge. However, there were some obvious problems that many fans saw even before Jackson was drafted. These problems would be the eventual cause of Harbaugh’s departure after 18 years.
The constant fear of the Ravens choking any game away, playoffs or not. However, the final straw was the string of heartbreak that could always be traced back to John Harbaugh and the coaching staff. After winning Super Bowl XLVII, the Ravens missed the playoffs in 2013 with an 8-8 record. In the 2014 Divisional Round, the Ravens blew two separate 14-point leads to the eventual Super Bowl Champions, the New England Patriots. 2015 was a bad year, with no offensive firepower and Joe Flacco tearing his ACL. However, 2016 is when things start to pick up. In 2016, the Ravens were eliminated from playoff contention in Week 16 by the Pittsburgh Steelers on a failed goal-line stand, led by a second-chance push by Antonio Brown with less than 10 seconds left. In Week 17 of 2017, the Ravens were bounced yet again from contention after they allowed Andy Dalton and Tyler Boyd to convert a fourth-and-long for a long touchdown, sending the Buffalo Bills to the playoffs for the first time since 1999. In 2018, after starting 4-5 and Flacco injured his hip, the Ravens turned to Jackson, who won six of the next seven, earning a home playoff game, but lost to the Chargers 23-17 after questionable play calling and poor pass protection.
In Jackson’s first full season as a starter and his first MVP season, the Ravens went 14-2, clinching the one-seed, first-round bye, and home-field advantage for all of the playoffs. It wouldn’t matter because Derrick Henry and the Titans would stun the number one offense in the league, sending fans home angry. In 2020, the Ravens would get their revenge, this time going to Tennessee, getting the win, but then in Buffalo, Jackson would throw a 100-yard pick-six that shifted the momentum of the entire game, resulting in a loss. In 2021, the Ravens started 8-3, but would lose the final six games of the season, missing the playoffs. In 2022, the Ravens got their get-back again, making the playoffs with the help of Tyler Huntley. In the Wild Card Round in Cincinnati, Huntley would fumble a QB sneak over the dogpile, which was returned for a touchdown.
In 2023, the Ravens came back with a vengeance, being a top-ranked offense, having the best defense in the league, Jackson won his second MVP, and helped the Ravens get another first-round bye. Baltimore would handle business against a rookie C.J. Stroud, but then abandoned the run game against the Chiefs. That game was sealed when Zay Flowers dove for the endzone, but had the ball punched out, ending another promising season. In 2024, the Ravens signed Derrick Henry, who had terrorized the Ravens for years. The team started at 0-2, but won five straight, and then four in a row after their late bye, propelling them to the playoffs at 12-5. The Ravens took down the Steelers at home, but in a Divisional Round matchup in Buffalo, the run game was abandoned again, Mark Andrews fumbled the ball, Jackson threw a pick, and then right when the Ravens saw hope, Andrews dropped the tying two-point conversion.
Even with all of that heartbreak, the Ravens gave Harbaugh another chance because those were better teams that had better game plans. Despite the constant two-score leads in the second half, the Ravens went back to the drawing board each time and found ways to be better. Entering 2025, the Ravens were Super Bowl favorites, but the odds quickly crashed after a 1-5 start. Even after their post-bye five-game win streak, fans saw a problem, and Harbaugh was putting out fires with reassurance rather than change.
The offensive line was a problem, but the Ravens started each game with the same starting five. The defense was abysmal to start the season, and while the five-game win streak was promising, they were not good teams and padded the stats. In the loss to New England and Cincinnati, Derrick Henry didn’t see the field on multiple full drives, creating questions about why you would not put a future Hall of Famer on the field. The signing of Cooper Rush was questionable, and after his performance against the Chiefs and Texans, why would one continue to play him until the Rams’ game got unmanageable? Every step of the way, Harbaugh had faith in the team, but it felt like the 2019 and 2023 spark was gone. Play calling got predictable, Henry sat on the sidelines, and the defense looked like Swiss cheese.
While questions about the futures of certain players are rising and a season like the Bears, Patriots, or Jaguars could be possible with a new head coach, the Ravens may need a year or two to get their bearings and find a new culture. John Harbaugh gave fans a lot of great memories in his 18 years, but after one too many heartbreaks, it would be considered insanity to believe 2026 would be any different. John Harbaugh will undoubtedly find a home before the NFL Draft, and hopefully, the Ravens will sign a promising candidate who wasn’t just fired himself. Nonetheless, Harbaugh will be loved for bringing the city of Baltimore their second Lombardi Trophy.
