When you’re working with one of the best quarterbacks in the National Football League, you tend to have a tighter leash than most other head coaches, well, unless you’re John Harbaugh. In which case, you’re grandfathered in a bit.
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The 63-year-old has been the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens since 2008, making him one of the longest-tenured play callers in the league today. He’s delivered nearly a dozen 10+ win seasons and a Super Bowl trophy, but he’s also failed to reach the championship stage with a two-time MVP in Lamar Jackson.
Professional football is all about answering the question “what have you done for me lately?” and in the case of Harbaugh, there’s not much to point towards in the last few years other than an appearance in the AFC Championship, and even that brings up bad memories.
Now, he finds himself headed towards a winner-takes-all match up with Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 18, one where the loser will be eliminated from playoff contention. The possibility of a loss has resulted in questions of job security for Harbaugh, but according to the man himself, the only thing that’s on his mind is the task at hand.
“It’s just not something you have the ability to think about. It’s not important… I feel honored to be a part of it. There’s always pressure… If those are the things that are being talked about along with that, then that’s okay. That’s a privilege, too.”
Suffice to say, Harbaugh is taking things one day at a time, and he’s right to do so. The Steelers were able to walk right into M&T Bank stadium and take their lunch money in Week 14, and that was with Jackson being available as well.
Pittsburgh has won 7 of their last 10 head-to-head meetings, and when you throw in the fact that they’ll have home field advantage for this one as well, it seems as if the edge resides with the Steelers. Thankfully, for both Harbaugh and the Ravens, they’ll at least have the oddsmakers on their side.
The look ahead to Sunday night’s match up sees Baltimore being listed as -3.5 point favorites, with the comeback on the Steelers money line currently sitting at +152. Whether it’s Aaron Rodger’s struggles against the Cleveland Browns in Week 17 or the availability of Jackson that’s responsible for this line is anyone’s guess, but the underlying message is still the same; a loss here would be an absolute upset for the Ravens.
Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes have both been eliminated from this year’s playoffs, meaning that the path towards the Super Bowl has never been more wide open than it currently is in the AFC. If the Ravens aren’t able to take advantage of that, or miss out on the festivities themselves, then Harbaugh is going to be forced to answer some tough questions, and one of them might just be “so where do you see yourself working next season?”
