As the season winds down, the Baltimore Ravens have a decision to make. Ozzie Newsome is handing over the reins to Eric DeCosta. Lamar Jackson is coming off what I’ll call a moderately successful rookie season. If ever there were a time to bring in a head coach with a new vision of what Ravens football should be to align with DeCosta’s goals and Jackson’s development, it’s right now.
So, here’s why I don’t think I’d be jumping out of my shoes to go get a new head coach. And beyond the words “Super Bowl” appearing in this sentence, I won’t mention the fact that Harbaugh is one of only a few coaches who have won one.
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John Harbaugh’s record in blowouts is extremely good.
The Ravens are 6-2 in games decided by more than one score. They were 7-2 in that category last year. Simply put — even the best teams in the league are sometimes going to get a bit unlucky in one-score games. If you treat those losses as ties, as Justis Mosqueda has theorized, the Ravens are actually one of the best teams in the NFL over the last couple seasons.
I know, I know, some comfort this is to you. You can create a blowout wins trophy. I get it. But it proves that the foundation of the Ravens is working, and that there are tweaks to be made to the formula that would get them over the hump.
By DVOA, the Ravens have had one consistent Joe Flacco-sized problem that never got fixed.
Perhaps you believe that Harbaugh’s unwavering belief in Flacco should be a reason that he should get canned. I wouldn’t argue too hard on that one. But the fact is that the running game, pass defense, run defense, and special teams have shown promise at some point in the last two seasons. The run game has been doing it with backs off the street. The pass rush has been doing it without a true No. 1 edge rusher. The fact that these things are happening is not a coincidence to me. It’s good coaching.
Part of what Harbaugh has been really good at — beyond creating a special teams unit that is only rivaled by Bill Belichick — is bringing in good coaches that have a great idea of what they’re doing. Wink Martindale was an inspired hire. There was a reason that Rex Ryan, and Chuck Pagano found head coaching jobs. (And it wasn’t just Ed Reed.) Greg Roman has done an excellent job molding this run offense.
All the Ravens need to do is be right about Lamar Jackson and all of the sudden they’re a great team. How much do you hold it against Harbaugh that Flacco got all the chances he did? I don’t come at it with much blame.
The Ravens can find an offensive mind to work under Harbaugh that can better develop a passing attack without necessarily going out and buying a Lincoln Riley coach.
Given that we just talked about how good Harbaugh/the Ravens have been about finding good NFL minds to be assistants, I think it’s worth noting that yes, they haven’t really had an offensive mind in their midst that has Lamar Jackson’s development as a passer in good hands. But it’s really not all that hard to bring one in.
Sean McVay and Andy Reid have tons of assistants on their respective stalves that would jump for an offensive coordinator job. Kliff Kingsbury found himself as USC’s offensive coordinator — why wouldn’t he rather not be the OC for the Ravens? And so on. The way we talk about coaches is weird because we only know the names we think are directly responsible for the success — but other guys are worthy of looks. Given how good the Ravens have been at finding assistants ready for a role like that, I would think they could find a good passing game coordinator without flushing Harbaugh.
Now, all that said, if Harbaugh is fired, I don’t necessarily think it’s the end of the world. Sometimes you need to shake things up to get the best out of your group, and the Harbaugh-Ravens marriage could be characterized as stale.
But if it were my show, I think Harbaugh has done enough to stay head coach until I see a major sign of weakness. With a little passing game help on staff and some offseason changes to help benefit their offense, I think the Ravens could easily be one of the best teams in the NFL next year.
Ravens Analyst
Rivers McCown is a writer and editor who has written for ESPN.com, Bleacher Report, USA Today, and Deadspin, among other places. He’s edited for Football Outsiders, Rookie Scouting Portfolio, and Pre-Snap Reads Quarterback Catalogue.