John Harbaugh

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 74.79.20.220 (talk) at 20:50, 20 March 2012 (→‎Coaching career). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

John Harbaugh
refer to caption
Harbaugh in 2009.
Personal information
Born: (1962-09-23) September 23, 1962 (age 61)
Toledo, Ohio
Career information
College:Miami University (OH)
Position:Head coach
Defensive back

John Harbaugh (born September 23, 1962) is the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens.[1] Before his assignment with the Ravens, Harbaugh coached the defensive backs for the Philadelphia Eagles[2] and served as the Eagles special teams coach for nine years. Harbaugh and his younger brother, San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, are the first pair of brothers to serve as head coaches in NFL history.[3]

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.

In 2010's season, he once again went to the playoffs, beating the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card on January 9, 2011. However, he then lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Divisional round 31-24 on January 15, after leading by 14 points in the beginning of the 2nd half.

Harbaugh signed a three-year extension on February 14, 2011 that will keep him under contract through 2014. Harbaugh and his younger brother Jim met in Week 12 on Thanksgiving Day between the Ravens and San Francisco 49ers. John defeated Jim in the Thanksgiving matchup 16-6. Harbaugh led the Ravens to a 12-4 record, losing in the AFC Conference Championship Game to the New England Patriots after kicker Billy Cundiff missed the potential game-tying field goal.

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 1 1 .500 Lost to Pittsburgh Steelers in AFC Divisional Game
BAL 2011 12 4 0 .750 1st in AFC North 1 1 .500 Lost to New England Patriots in AFC Championship Game
BAL Total 44 20 0 .688 5 4 .556
Total 44 20 0 .688 5 4 .556

Coaching Tree

NFL head coaches under whom John Harbaugh has served:

Assistant coaches under John Harbaugh who have become NFL head coaches:

NFL records

  • First Head Coach to make the playoffs in his first four seasons

Personal

Harbaugh's younger brother, Jim, (a former NFL quarterback) is the head football coach for the San Francisco 49ers. Their father, Jack, is a former head football coach at Western Michigan University and Western Kentucky University. John and Jim Harbaugh's sister, Joani, is married to Tom Crean — head men's basketball coach at Indiana University. Harbaugh is married to Ingrid Harbaugh and they have one daughter.

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Coaches". baltimoreravens.com. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
  2. ^ "Harbaugh's therapy for ailing Eagles coach Johnson: Talk ball". USA Today. 21 May 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
  3. ^ Ken Murray (January 7, 2011). "Jim Harbaugh joins Ravens' John Harbaugh to form first pair of NFL head coaching brothers". Baltimore Sun. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

External links

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Harbaugh&oldid=482966546"