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John Harbaugh

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John Harbaugh
refer to caption
Harbaugh at the Baltimore Ravens Training Camp August 20, 2009
Baltimore Ravens
Position:Head coach
Defensive back
Personal information
Born: (1962-09-23) September 23, 1962 (age 61)
Toledo, Ohio, U.S.
Career information
College:Miami (OH)
Head coaching record
Regular season:67–37 (.644)
Postseason:9–4 (.692)

John Harbaugh (born September 23, 1962) is the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens.[1] Previously, he 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 in NFL history to serve as head coaches.[3] John and the Ravens beat his brother, Jim, and the 49ers at Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans on February 3, 2013 by a score of 34-31.

Harbaugh is widely respected for his intense work ethic and is considered one of the best head coaches currently in the NFL. He has led the Ravens to 71 wins (including playoffs) since his tenure began in 2008, second most in the NFL over that span. His 9 playoff wins are the most by any head coach in the NFL since 2008.

Early life

Harbaugh was born in Toledo, Ohio, the son of Jacqueline M. "Jackie" (née Cipiti) and Jack Avon Harbaugh.[4] His mother is of half-Sicilian and half-Polish descent, and his father has Irish and German ancestry.[4]

Harbaugh graduated from Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, during which time father Jack was an assistant under Bo Schembechler at the nearby University of Michigan. He played collegiately at Miami University as a defensive back, where he was a defensive teammate and roommate with Brian Pillman.

Coaching career

College coaching ranks as an assistant at Western Michigan (1984–1987), Pitt (1987), Morehead State (1988), Cincinnati (1989–1996) and Indiana (1997).

NFL assistant coach

He was first hired in the NFL in 1998 by the Philadelphia Eagles' then head coach Ray Rhodes, and was one of four assistant coaches retained by new head coach Andy Reid in 1999. As such, he is in the Sid Gillman coaching tree. In 2004, he was mentioned as a possible candidate to replace Gary Darnell as the head football coach at Western Michigan, where he had earned a master's degree and was an assistant football coach from 1984–1987.

In 2007, after serving as Eagles' special-teams coach for nine years, he became their defensive-backs coach. This fulfilled his request to head coach Reid and improved his chances of landing a head coaching job, since executives at that time viewed special teams coaches as unqualified to move up to head coach.

NFL head coach

On January 19, 2008 he became the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens after the team's first choice Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett turned down the offer. He was not considered one of the favorites for the job until he was interviewed. He impressed team owner Steve Bisciotti and Vice President of Player Personnel/General Manager Ozzie Newsome. Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots recommended Harbaugh to Bisciotti by phone during the interview process. This helped Harbaugh to make the unusual leap from NFL position coach (e.g., offensive line, quarterbacks, secondary) to head coach without previously serving as an offensive/defensive coordinator.

On January 23, 2008, Harbaugh hired longtime NFL offensive coach (and former head coach) Cam Cameron as offensive coordinator. (Cameron had previously hired Harbaugh as an assistant at Indiana.) Cameron was also quarterbacks coach for John's brother, Jim, during their time at Michigan. On September 7, 2008, in his debut as a head coach, John and his Ravens beat the Cincinnati Bengals. Until then, no team had ever won when a coach and a quarterback (Joe Flacco) were both making their NFL debut.

Harbaugh as the head coach of the Ravens

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, he led the team to upset victories over the Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans before losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC championship game.

On January 26, 2009, he named Greg Mattison the new defensive coordinator for the Ravens, replacing Rex Ryan who had left to take his first head coaching job (with the New York Jets). Mattison had served as linebacker coach and defensive coordinator for Harbaugh's father, Jack, at Western Michigan from 1981–86, when Harbaugh was a graduate assistant and assistant coach for his father.

In his second season as Ravens' head coach, he once again led the team to the playoffs with a 9-7 record during the regular season and 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 before losing in the AFC divisional game to the Indianapolis Colts. He once again took the Ravens to the playoffs in 2010, beating the Kansas City Chiefs in the wild card round on January 9, 2011, before losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional round 31-24 on January 15 after starting the second half with a 14- point lead.

Harbaugh signed a three-year extension on February 14, 2011 that will keep him under contract through 2014. The Ravens finished 2011 12-4, winning the AFC North division and sweeping the Steelers home and away before losing the AFC Championship Game to the New England Patriots after Lee Evans dropped a potential late game-winning pass and kicker Billy Cundiff flubbed a potential game-tying field goal. Neither Evans nor Cundiff made the 53-man 2012 roster.

John faced his younger brother Jim in Week 12 (2011) on Thanksgiving Day when John's Ravens beat Jim's San Francisco 49ers 16-6.

The 2012 Baltimore Ravens again met the Patriots in the AFC championship game (on January 20, 2013), got their revenge with a 28-13 victory (coming from behind with a 13-7 second half), and marked the first time Tom Brady and Bill Belicheck lost a game after leading at halftime, giving John the opportunity to face brother Jim and the 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII on February 3, 2013.[5] Many have pegged Super Bowl XLVII as the "Harbowl". John and the Ravens were victorious, defeating Jim and the 49ers 34-31 in Super Bowl XLVII. Following the victory, John gave his entire staff replica Lombardi trophies to commemorate the victory.[6]

On 5 September 2013, an hour before the Ravens played in the NFL regular season's opening game, it was reported that Harbaugh had signed a four-year contract extension in a deal that was reached "months ago."[7]

John Harbaugh is the only head coach in NFL history that has won a play-off game in each of his first five seasons according to the NFL Network. [citation needed]

In each season of Harbaugh's first four seasons, every AFC Champion beat the Ravens in the playoffs (although only the 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers were able to actually win the Super Bowl). [citation needed]

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 2012 10 6 0 .625 1st in AFC North 4 0 1.000 Super Bowl XLVII Champions
BAL 2013 8 8 0 .500 3rd in AFC North - - - -
BAL 2014 5 3 0 .625 - - - -
BAL Total 67 37 0 .644 9 4 .692
Total 67 37 0 .644 9 4 .692

Coaching tree

NFL head coaches under whom Harbaugh has served:

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

Family

Harbaugh is a devout Roman Catholic.[8][9] He is married to Ingrid Harbaugh, and they have one daughter.[10]

Harbaugh's younger brother, Jim, a former NFL quarterback, is the head coach for the San Francisco 49ers. Their father, Jack, is a former head football coach at Western Michigan University and Western Kentucky University. John's sister, Joani, is married to Tom Crean, the head men's basketball coach at Indiana University. [citation needed]

Harbaugh visited the American troops in Afghanistan in early 2014, as recounted here.

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)
  4. ^ a b "Ancestry of John and Jim Harbaugh". Freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com. Retrieved 2013-01-27.
  5. ^ Hanzus, Dan (2013-01-20). "Ravens roll by Patriots to advance to Super Bowl XLVII". National Football League. Retrieved 2013-01-20.
  6. ^ "John Harbaugh gives Lombardi replicas to staff", NFL.com; accessed September 7, 2014.
  7. ^ Zrebiec, Jeff (5 September 2013). "Ravens reward head coach John Harbaugh with contract extension". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  8. ^ http://faithworks.crs.org/catholics-in-the-super-bowl/
  9. ^ http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/super-bowl-winning-coach-makes-the-most-of-each-moment/
  10. ^ ""Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh finds winning combination," ''The Catholic Review'' (Archdiocese of Baltimore), November 14, 2008". Catholicreview.org. 2012-11-20. Retrieved 2013-01-27.


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