A major change is taking place in the AFC North. The Baltimore Ravens and head coach John Harbaugh are parting ways after nearly two decades together.
Videos by FanBuzz
NFL insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero broke the news on Tuesday evening. They both cited sources while using different language. Rapoport said that the team and Harbaugh are parting ways. Pelissero said that the team had fired the veteran head coach.
Regardless of langauge, the outcome is the same. The AFC North team will have to find a new head coach for the first time since the 2008 season, Harbaugh's first year on the job. This new head coach will report to General Manager Eric DeCosta.
A longtime assistant coach with the Philadelphia Eagles, Harbaugh landed the Baltimore Ravens job ahead of the 2008 season. He replaced Brian Billick, the man responsible for the team's first Super Bowl win.
This move paid immediate dividends for Baltimore. Harbaugh took the team to the playoffs in his first season after an 11-win season. They reached the AFC Championship with rookie quarterback Joe Flacco.
The Ravens continued to be perennial playoff contenders as the head coach gained experience in the role. The team reached the playoffs every season from 2008-2012 while winning at least one playoff game each time.
The 2012 season served as the highwater mark as the team won three playoff games to reach the Super Bowl. They then defeated the 49ers to end the season as champions.
The Ravens have undergone numerous personnel changes over 18 seasons, but the team has remained mostly competitive while only posting three losing seasons in this stretch. The Ravens won at least 10 games in 11 of Harbaugh's 18 seasons.
The team experienced a lull from 2015-2017 while going 22-26 with no playoff appearances. The team appeared to be close to cutting ties with the veteran head coach, but rookie Lamar Jackson took over midway through the 2018 season and put the Ravens back into the playoffs.
Jackson has won league MVP twice while taking the Ravens to the playoffs six times, but he has also dealt with injuries. The Ravens have failed to move beyond the divisional round in five of these six postseason appearances.
The 2025 season serves as one of the losing seasons. The Ravens started the year 1-5 and out of the playoff contention. They then recovered and won seven of the next 10 games to set up a win-and-in situation in Week 18. However, the Ravens lost to the rival Steelers on a last-second field goal miss, dooming them to an 8-9 record.
The losing season played a role in Harbaugh's departure from the team, but he still leaves as the winningest coach in franchise history. He holds a win-loss record of 180-113 and a playoff win-loss record of 13-11. The next closest coach is Billick, who went 80-64 in the regular season and 5-3 in the playoffs.
