The Baltimore Ravens sent shockwaves through the NFL world by firing longtime head coach John Harbaugh on Tuesday.
Over 18 seasons with Baltimore, Harbaugh went 180-113 in the regular season (.614 winning percentage), 13-11 in the postseason, won eight playoff games on the road (an NFL record for a head coach), and won a Super Bowl title. The Ravens’ season came to a heartbreaking end in a wild loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers with the AFC North division crown on the line on Sunday Night Football. Baltimore finishes 8-9 on the season and has won fewer than eight games just once in Harbaugh’s 18 years as head coach.
Harbaugh immediately becomes the biggest name on the coaching market, and potentially the top candidate on the wishlist of more than a few NFL organizations, while the Ravens’ vacancy immediately becomes the most coveted job.
So, how did we get here?
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport went into detail about what led to Baltimore’s decision during The Insiders on Tuesday night.
From The Insiders on @NFLNetwork: The #Ravens parted ways with John Harbaugh today and among the reasons — They felt he lost the locker room. Including, but not limited to, Lamar Jackson. pic.twitter.com/ssAUrHE799
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 7, 2026
“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.”
Even with that knowledge, Rapoport explained why Harbaugh will still be a top candidate on the market.
From The Insiders on @NFLNetwork: It did not end great in Baltimore, which is obvious because otherwise it wouldn’t have ended. But John Harbaugh is now a top candidate. pic.twitter.com/TXypcQ4H4f
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 7, 2026
“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.”
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.