Loyalty across 18 years and general consistency are typically more than enough to take you wherever you may want to go in your professional life. But John Harbaugh, who was the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens from 2008 to 2025, has always faced the ‘what have you done for me lately’ question in the NFL.
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The 63-year-old head coach was able to produce three consecutive 10+ win seasons from 2022 to 2024 with the Ravens. However, he was never able to reach the AFC Championship with Lamar Jackson, whom many believe to be the most talented quarterback in the league.
Those postseason misses were compounded by a frustrating 8-9 finish in 2025, which saw the Ravens miss out on the playoffs altogether despite being listed as the preseason Super Bowl favorites. And the franchise thought it best to finally move on from their head coach of nearly two decades. Many have suggested that the equally frustrated Jackson had a say in the matter.
However, according to Harbaugh, a rift between him and Jackson couldn’t be further from the truth. “We’ve texted a number of times,” Harbaugh suggested in a recent interview with Fox Sports’ Dan Patrick.
“Great love for Lamar. We’ve texted. He is a great QB. There are no issues between us,” he added.
It was readily apparent that the veteran play-caller didn’t have much interest in sifting through old news. And the smile that broke across his face the second that his new team, the New York Giants, was mentioned, conveyed that he is feeling at home, and is well and truly ready for a fresh start.
However, Harbaugh did feel the need to clarify that there were plenty of other teams that he considered during his brief period as a free agent. “I talked to everybody… It was really incredible to talk to the people at every organization,” he admitted.
The owners, the GMs, team presidents, all that, there are so many great people in this league… You realize we’re all fighting the same things. We’re all fighting the same battles, we all,” he added.
That he had options at his disposal ultimately seems to suggest that Harbaugh was most excited by the opportunity to work with one of the youngest rosters in the NFL and to potentially develop the next big thing in Jaxson Dart. Given the dual threat capabilities of the Ole Miss product, there’s likely a bit of familiarity there for Harbaugh as well.
“You build a team around the quarterback. Jaxson was the guy who really excited me when I saw him. Now more so, as being in here. He was here last night, hanging out. He’s working out. I think he worked out at 9 PM. I saw him around the building and talked about the ball with him. It was great,” added Harbaugh on the Dan Patrick Show.
Only time will tell as to whether or not he’ll be able to right the sinking ship that is the Giants franchise. While Harbaugh was busy racking up those aforementioned 10+ win seasons and vying for playoff seeds, New York was busy collecting just 13 wins in the past three years.
Resurrecting the Giants will not be an easy feat for Harbaugh by any means. Then again, if there’s anyone capable of guiding the Giants back to the playoffs, perhaps it’s the same head coach who’s managed to reach the postseason in six of the last eight years.
