The Baltimore Ravens missed the playoffs in 2025 for just the second time since Lamar Jackson joined the team. That led to the dismissal of longtime head coach John Harbaugh. While it was sad to see a franchise legend go, most understood that his time had run its course. Eighteen years was enough.
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That became even clearer as, year after year, the Ravens were one of the league’s best regular-season teams, only to falter once they reached the postseason. Now, they will begin a search for a fresh replacement who can reinvigorate a roster that is as talented as any in the NFL. What it needs is inspiration and direction.
Hall of Famer and ESPN analyst Randy Moss spoke on Baltimore’s head coach search and emphasized one thing above all else. It has to be about how well the new coach meshes with their $260 million quarterback.
“The next head coach that comes into Baltimore needs to be able to bring out the best in Lamar Jackson… Coach Harbaugh brought the best out of Lamar Jackson in the regular season. What I need the next coach they bring in is to bring the best out of Lamar in the postseason,” Moss said during a segment on NFL on ESPN, before adding,
“All this talk about two-time MVP in the regular season, putting up these numbers, but when it comes to the postseason play … it just goes down.”
Jackson has no doubt been one of the four best regular-season QBs over the past five years or so. If not the best. But that has not translated to postseason success.
He is generally not at fault for Baltimore’s losses. Other players have fumbled at crucial moments, offensive coordinators have forgotten how to call a run play, and Jackson has even missed some playoff losses due to injury. But there’s no debating: his individual level does go down in January.
In the regular season, Jackson holds the NFL career record for passer rating at 102.2. He completes about 64 percent of his passes, has a 6.5 TD rate, and a 1.9 INT rate. But in the postseason, his rating free-falls to 84.6, his completion percentage drops to 60.5 percent, his TD rate drops significantly to 4.1, and his INT rate rises half again to 2.9 percent.
Perhaps a fresh, new perspective from a coach who loves offense and X’s and O’s and scheming could be just what the doctor ordered. As Moss pointed out, it worked in Duval and Illinois this season.
“We’ve been talking all year about what Liam Coen has done out there in Jacksonville, what Ben Johnson has done in Chicago. So the next coach to come in for Baltimore, needs to bring out the best in Lamar Jackson… Because this still is one of the better teams in all of football with one hell of a roster.”
"The next head coach that comes into Baltimore needs to be able to bring out the best in Lamar Jackson. … I don't just mean [the] regular season."@RandyMoss wants to see the Ravens next head coach bring out the best in Lamar Jackson in the postseason ✍️ pic.twitter.com/kOxGEfrwDQ
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) January 10, 2026
There seems to be a bit more of a wide-open race for the Ravens’ top job than most in this cycle. Unfortunately for Moss and Jackson, the favorite right now at about 26 percent probability is Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. Not the offensive guru Moss was hoping for. Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak is second on the odds board, but another DC, Minnesota’s Brian Flores, is third.
