Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti says this wasn't about one kick.
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Instead, Bisciotti acknowledged Tuesday that he began seriously weighing a coaching change late in the season and had already raised the possibility with general manager Eric DeCosta. By the morning after Baltimore's season-opening loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bisciotti said he was "pretty sure" John Harbaugh's run was coming to an end.
So no, Tyler Loop's missed 44-yard field goal that would have clinched the AFC North wasn't the reason. At most, Bisciotti said, it would have bought Harbaugh "one more week."
Bisciotti also consulted the locker room. He spoke with several core players, including quarterback Lamar Jackson. According to Bisciotti, Jackson didn't express any personal issues with Harbaugh or offensive coordinator Todd Monken, but did acknowledge that "we have to make changes, probably."
That was enough to crystallize what the owner was already feeling.
"I fell on my instincts," Bisciotti said, via Ryan Mink of the team's website. "I got to the point that I didn't believe that I would feel regret after I made that decision."
The résumé was undeniable. Jackson has won 86 regular-season games and two MVP awards since 2018. But the postseason hasn't followed. Bisciotti pointed to blown fourth-quarter leads, including collapses against Buffalo and New England, and multiple late-game failures in Pittsburgh.
Baltimore still hasn't reached a Super Bowl with Jackson under center. For Bisciotti, that mattered.
"I may be right; I may be wrong," he said. "But my instincts told me this was the time."
