The Ravens’ decision to fire John Harbaugh on Tuesday might be this offseason’s biggest move. The ramifications are already spreading around the NFL, and no team has more to handle than the Ravens themselves. This offseason was already a crucial one for Baltimore, as Lamar Jackson is due for another round of extension negotiations in the coming months.
The two-time MVP already has considerable sway inside the organization, and the leverage from his contract talks only boosts his current influence. That factored into this process, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. While Jackson did not necessarily engineer Harbaugh’s ouster, there still may have been some friction between the veteran quarterback and Baltimore’s coaching staff. The team has long been frustrated with Jackson’s offseason practice habits, and routinely skipping Wednesdays this season to rest and recover from a myriad of injuries may have re-raised the issue.
While Harbaugh and Jackson were still believed to have a good relationship, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Ravens seem to be looking for a better fit with their franchise quarterback. According to Rapoport, the team is looking for someone who can “reach,” “invigorate,” and get the “absolute most” out of Jackson. The Ravens were believed to have pushed Harbaugh to fire OC Todd Monken. The HC’s refusal contributed to his own exit.
Here is the latest from this firing:
- Harbaugh himself felt unappreciated in his final years in Baltimore and seems ready for a new challenge, according to ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. That aligns with his exploration of other jobs around the league, particularly those like the Giants’ with a young quarterback and a desire to rebuild.
- A number of teams are already interested in Harbaugh, including a few that still have head coaches under contract. Those teams will need to carefully weigh their chances of hiring the ex-Ravens leader. They are unlikely to axe their current coaches unless they are confident they can land Harbaugh, per NFL insider Jordan Schultz. Teams are permitted to reach out to Harbaugh as a coaching free agent.
- Though Harbaugh’s removal seems to be the culmination of several things in Baltimore, the timing still took team and coach by surprise, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. Those in the building seemed to expect Harbaugh to go along with firing Monken but his refusal to do so precipitated his firing. As of Tuesday afternoon, a view in the building pointed to Harbaugh staying, Hensley adds. The firing coming soon after will bring sweeping changes for an organization that has exuded stability for many years.
- The Ravens are expected to have a “complete makeover, especially on offense,” according to Hensley. Jackson’s input on the direction of the unit will likely play a factor.
- One route the team could go down is hiring Kliff Kingsbury, who recently parted ways with the Commanders. The offensive guru has found success with mobile quarterbacks like Kyler Murray and Jayden Daniels, and Jackson would no doubt be an interesting move considering Jackson’s status as maybe the greatest running quarterback in NFL history. Baltimore has already been mentioned as a landing spot for Kingsbury, per The Athletic’s Dianna Russini and The Washington Post’s Mark Maske. The Commanders moved on from Kingsbury after a report indicated friction between he and GM Adam Peters, among disagreements between the front office and the coaching staff, took place this season.
Coach Killer Lamar
That was Kyler’s title
He’s had one head coach in an 8 year career.
Justin Tucker never got his coach fired. That’s what happens when you don’t rub down your kicker’s leg.
Middle leg
Lamar the GM? These types of things usually don’t end up working too well.
Burrow, & Arron think they’re GM’s as well.
Firing Harbaugh to bring in Kingsbury as head coach would be insane.
Think Kingsbury would be brought in as the OC (not head coach) if they get rid of Monken
Not sure what another OC/HC can install that makes Lamar better? They’ve had a great running game with Derrick Henry for two seasons now. Lamar already knows to escape the pocket and either pass/run. Some players can’t be coached up anymore, they hit their limits. No magic wand can help.
Lamar has hit his peak and regressed this year due to injuries. Less running because of nagging injuries. He should be thankful that Harbaugh built the offense around him coming out of college because no other team was interested. There were 6 other QBs drafted before Lamar. Anyway, missing practices on Wednesdays was his routine. Seems he didn’t see eye to eye with Monken. Hopefully all new coaching staff can make it work. Lamar’s contract status needs a renegotiation to lower cap because both trenches must be improved along with a tough WR and Edge rusher. Original PSL owner who will be Raven fanatic until I die. Wish Harbaugh all the best in the future and thankful to have hm as the leader and coach for last 18 years. Now interesting offseason begins.
Yeah, imagine a coach building an offense around their QB. Some of you have stupid takes.
An offense as unique as that isn’t just any everyday offense. Surely you must give Harbaugh some credit for taking that approach, and hiring Roman to build the first version of that offense for Jackson. It’s a big gamble for a coach, especially in coming from the polar opposite offense with Joe Flacco as quarterback.
It’s not that unique. It’s West Coast principles that take advantage of his unique skill set, which excentuates the rushing game and going deep instead of short passing. It’s a lot of the same stuff KC does under Andy Reid with Mahomes. It’s explosive, and it scores a lot of points. You’re talking like they’re runnning a college offense or something. It’s similar to how a lot of you didn’t relize Cam Newton was running aversion of the same offense New England has run for 20 years and that Josh Allen runs now when he was in Carolina.
Highly doubt this account. Ravens have always been a defense focused team, but someone trying to sell the sticking point was Monken and not the guy losing double digit fourth quarter leads every other week? Use your own brains to cut through the BS coming from either side to these media bobbleheads.