John Harbaugh
John Harbaugh (born September 23, 1962) is the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens. Before his assignment with the Ravens, Harbaugh coached the defensive backs for the Philadelphia Eagles and served as the Eagles special teams coach for nine years.
Early years
Harbaugh graduated from Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, during which time his father, Jack, was an assistant under Bo Schembechler at the nearby University of Michigan. He played collegiate football for Miami University, where he was a defensive back.
Coaching career
Harbaugh was first hired in the NFL in 1998 by Philadelphia Eagles then-head coach Ray Rhodes, and was one of four assistant coaches retained by new head coach Andy Reid in 1999. Prior to that, Harbaugh spent time in the college ranks as an assistant at Indiana University (1997), University of Cincinnati (1989–1996), Morehead State University (1988), and Western Michigan University (1984–1987).
In 2004, Harbaugh was mentioned as a possible candidate to replace Gary Darnell as the head football coach at Western Michigan University. Harbaugh earned his master's degree from WMU and was an assistant football coach from 1984–1987.
In 2007, after serving as a Special Teams Coach for 9 years, John was switched to Defensive Backs coach. Andy Reid did so in order to fulfill John's desire to obtain a head coaching position in the future, as special team coaches are rarely hired as head coaches. The move paid off the following year, as Harbaugh was announced as Head Coach of the Baltimore Ravens on January 19, 2008. Harbaugh only interviewed for the job after the first choice for the Ravens, Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, turned them down, and was not considered a favorite to get the job. But he impressed owner Steve Bisciotti and GM Ozzie Newsome in his interview enough to make the relatively unusual jump from secondary coach to NFL head coach.
On January 23, 2008, Harbaugh hired Cam Cameron to be the Ravens offensive coordinator. Cameron had originally hired Harbaugh as an assistant at Indiana University in 1997. Cameron had also served as quarterbacks coach for John's brother Jim during their time at the University of Michigan.
On September 7, 2008, Harbaugh coached the Ravens to a win over the Cincinnati Bengals in his head coaching debut. Until that point no team had ever won when a coach and a quarterback (Joe Flacco) were both making their NFL debut.
On October 27, 2008, Harbaugh announced that the "Suggs package," a two-quarterback offense featuring Joe Flacco and Troy Smith would be a viable option for the remainder of the 2008 season.
In his rookie season as a head coach, Harbaugh guided the Ravens to an 11–5 regular season record, good enough to qualify them for the playoffs as a wild card team. In the playoffs, Harbaugh oversaw upset victories over the Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans before losing for the 3rd time that season to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC championship game.
On January 26, 2009, Harbaugh named Greg Mattison as the new defensive coordinator for the Ravens, replacing Rex Ryan, who had left to become head coach of the New York Jets. Mattison served as a linebacker coach and defensive coordinator for Harbaugh's father, Jack, at Western Michigan University from 1981-86. While at WMU, Mattison also coached alongside Harbaugh, who was a graduate assistant and assistant coach for his father.
In Harbaugh's second season as the Ravens' head coach, he once again led the team to a playoff berth with a 9-7 record during the regular season. Harbaugh improved his playoff record to 3-1 with an upset victory over the New England Patriots in the AFC Wild Card round on January 10, 2010. He then lost the following week, bringing his record to 3-2.
NFL Head coaching record
| Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| BAL | 2008 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 2nd in AFC North | 2 | 1 | .667 | Lost to Pittsburgh Steelers in AFC Championship Game |
| BAL | 2009 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 2nd in AFC North | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost to Indianapolis Colts in AFC Divisional Game |
| BAL | 2010 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 2nd in AFC North | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total[1] | 32 | 16 | 0 | .652 | 3 | 2 | .600 | |||
Coaching Tree
NFL head coaches under whom John Harbaugh has served:
- Ray Rhodes, Philadelphia Eagles (1998)
- Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles (1999–2007)
Assistant coaches under John Harbaugh who have become NFL head coaches:
- Rex Ryan, New York Jets (2009–present)
Personal
Harbaugh's younger brother, Jim, (a former NFL quarterback) is the head football coach at Stanford University. Their father, Jack, is a former head football coach at Western Michigan University and Western Kentucky University. John Harbaugh's brother-in-law is Tom Crean--husband of Harbaugh's sister Joani and the head basketball coach at Indiana University. Harbaugh is married with one daughter.
Template:Incumbent boxNotes and references
External links
- 1962 births
- Living people
- National Football League head coaches
- Baltimore Ravens head coaches
- Philadelphia Eagles coaches
- Miami RedHawks football coaches
- Morehead State Eagles football coaches
- Cincinnati Bearcats football coaches
- Indiana Hoosiers football coaches
- Miami RedHawks football players
- Sportspeople from Michigan