The second-longest-tenured HC is one of the very best
The Baltimore Ravens and John Harbaugh have been together for 17 seasons, second only to Mike Tomlin’s 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the longest tenure among active NFL head coaches. The Ravens rewarded Harbaugh with a three-year extension in March following another double-digit win season and a trip to the divisional round of the playoffs.
Harbaugh’s 172-104 career record speaks for itself. Throw in a 13-11 post-season record and a Super Bowl victory and it is easy to see why Harbaugh has lasted as long as he has. However, Harbaugh’s lack of post-season success since winning Super Bowl XLVII has drawn scrutiny from some fans, particularly when the Ravens have had the No. 1 seed in the AFC twice since 2019 and only one trip to the AFC Championship to show for it.
NBC Sports’ Patrick Daugherty recently compiled a ranking of all 32 NFL team’s head coaches, with Harbaugh landing at No. 3 behind Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andry Reid and Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay.
“Harbaugh outlasted the AFC’s previous parade of Hall of Fame signal callers only to get matched up with an equally-imposing new guard,” Daugherty wrote. “The results have been largely the same. Several division titles, multiple No. 1 seeds and … a whole lot of postseason pain.”
Harbaugh’s Ravens with two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson at the helm have suffered heartbreaking losses to the Tennessee Titans, Buffalo Bills, and Kansas City Chiefs since Jackson became the full-time starter in 2019. The most recent loss to the Bills in the divisional round perfectly encapsulated Baltimore’s post-season pain of late as the usually-reliable tight end Mark Andrews dropped what should have been a walk-in two-point conversion to tie the game and send it to overtime with a chance to return to the AFC Championship for a rematch with the Chiefs.
“The only way to keep suffering heartbreaking January losses is to make the playoffs every season,” Daugherty wrote. “Harbaugh does so by remaining at the league’s analytical vanguard but also throwing it back when necessary. He’s proven a coach can master the EPA implications of 2-point conversions while still giving Derrick Henry 325 regular season carries. Harbaugh knows how to win. He doesn’t suddenly forget in the playoffs. There’s just only so much you can do when Brady/Manning/Roethlisberger immediately segues into Mahomes/Allen/Burrow. Harbaugh put it all together in 2012-13. He will do so again before he’s through.”