Harbaugh’s Waterloo

Sports talk radio and social media spaces can be toxic and reactionary. Poor performances by a team are nearly always followed by calls and posts to fire the coach. Many times, those sentiments are driven by emotional fandom and aren’t supported by logic or reason.

In the aftermath of the Ravens’ latest lost at M and T Bank Stadium, the cries to fire John Harbaugh have never been louder. And perhaps, never more justified.

Let’s review the timeline of events that have pushed the Ravens’ fanbase to edge.

At the start of the 4th quarter, Baltimore had the ball at the Patriots 32 yard line and it was 1st and 10. The play sequence went as follows:

Derrick Henry, left guard for 4 yards

Derrick Henry, left end for 22 yards

Derrick Henry, left guard for 4 yards

Derrick Henry, left end for 2 yards, touchdown. Ravens up 24-13.

The Ravens got the ball back after a Patriots touchdown and 2 point conversion made it 24-21. With 8:52 left on the clock, Derrick Henry did not have another offensive snap. In a game where Henry averaged over 7 yards per carry and on a possession that begged for a run heavy, clock draining drive; number 22 stayed on the sideline.

Instead of having your closer, your 250 pound hammer in the backfield, you gave the ball to Keaton Mitchell twice for 4 total yards and had backup Tyler Huntley drop back to pass 4 times. (On 4th and 4 from the Ravens’ 49 yard line, it’s unclear whether the Ravens intended to run a play or not but Mark Andrews was flagged for a false start. Subsequently, the Ravens punted.)

While the defense should not be absolved from blame for watching yet another double digit 4th quarter lead melt away on their collective watch, the offense has to shoulder some of the responsibility as well. And when that offense was already without Lamar Jackson, your next best offensive player needs to be on the field when the game is on the line.

Even with the penultimate offensive series not working out, the Ravens got the ball back, trailing by 4, with 2:03 to play and a full complement of timeouts. There was no need to panic, no need to go into a fire drill type of attack. You can certainly mix in some running plays at that point; particularly when Henry was ripping off chunks of yardage most of the evening. Instead, the most dominant running back of this generation, the back that was brought in to compliment this offense and help close out games, was on the bench sipping Gatorade.

To the local media’s credit, they’ve not given John Harbaugh the usual pass. Several members of the press have asked the tough questions and tried to understand how the Ravens head coach could allow the personnel usage to unfold the way it did.

Harbaugh responded in what has become his typical fashion; defiance, deflection and a lack of accountability.

When asked about the 2nd to last drive, Harbaugh said, “I don’t like the drive at all.” Harbaugh added Keaton Mitchell was the next man up as part of the rotation but Harbaugh said Henry “should’ve been in.”

Harbaugh was further pressed on the situation and his response was as follows:

“Looking back at it right now, I would have grabbed it, and I would have said, ‘No, put Derrick in the game.’ But that’s not really the way it works in real time.”

Well then, Coach, enlighten us…..how does it work?

Seriously, John Harbaugh has been the Head Coach of the Baltimore Ravens for 18 seasons and he can’t find a way to administer the game in real time. And let’s call a spade a spade, this is not the first time that fans and media have been frustrated by Harbaugh’s seeming lack of control and command on the sidelines during his tenure.

Harbaugh is known to delegate responsibility to his coordinators and assistants. Even with the situation this past Sunday, Harbaugh pointed to running backs coach Willie Taggart having a conversation with Henry about how the that next to last drive would go.

Bottom line, delegation of responsibility doesn’t absolve you from responsibility. In the micro, Harbaugh failed miserably on Sunday night by not observing the game the was going on in front of him and making sure his most dominant offensive player was on the field during the moments that matter most. In the macro, last Sunday’s game was everything that’s been wrong with the late Harbaugh era; self inflicted mistakes/poorly time turnovers, another blown 4th quarter lead and baffling coaching decisions.

While the Ravens remain mathematically alive for the AFC North, for all intents and purposes, the 2025 season is over for Baltimore.

Ravens Owner Steve Bisciotti needs to look at the Week 16 loss to New England as Harbaugh’s Waterloo. After Waterloo, Napoleon was forced to abdicate his thrown and go into exile.

I wouldn’t suggest that Harbaugh go to Saint Helena in the South Atlantic but I hear Ann Arbor, Michigan is lovely. And has a job opening.