Ravens Dump John Harbaugh After 18 Seasons

John Harbaugh's long run in Baltimore is over, and it ended far quicker than anyone expected, the Baltimore Sun reports. A source told the paper the Ravens and their 62-year-old head coach agreed Tuesday that Harbaugh would leave after 18 seasons, despite him having signed a three-year extension less than a year ago that was supposed to keep him in place through 2028. The team's owner later confirmed Harbaugh's termination. His exit follows an 8-9 season in which a team that started off with Super Bowl expectations instead failed to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2021. Harbaugh had been the NFL's second-longest tenured coach, behind only Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh. He exits as the winningest coach in franchise history at 193-124, with 12 playoff appearances, tied for second-most among active coaches entering this season.

His exit likely signals a broader reset: offensive coordinator Todd Monken and defensive coordinator Zach Orr are not expected to return, and the Ravens are believed to have a replacement coach in mind who would build his own staff. The decision comes after years of postseason frustration that followed Harbaugh's peak: a Super Bowl win after the 2012 season, when his Ravens beat brother Jim Harbaugh's 49ers. Since then, Baltimore has reached just one AFC championship game, a 2023 home loss to the Chiefs marked by conservative play-calling, red-zone failures, and lingering questions about game management that resurfaced again in last season's divisional-round loss to the Bills.

Things unraveled fully this year, the Ravens' third time ending the season with a losing record under Harbaugh, ESPN reports. The Ravens opened 1-5, blew multiple double-digit fourth-quarter leads—including in the season opener—and were plagued by injuries, among them quarterback Lamar Jackson's hamstring issue. Since 2021, Baltimore has dropped 12 games in which it led by at least seven in the fourth quarter, the most in the league over that timeframe, fueling scrutiny of Harbaugh's decisions. Owner Steve Bisciotti had previously considered firing him after a three-year playoff drought from 2015-17 but ultimately stuck with him. In commentary at the Sun, Mike Preston writes that parting ways was the right move for the team. But apparently Harbaugh needn't worry about finding a new gig; sources tell CBS Sports seven different teams have already contacted his agent.