Will Harbaugh’s $50M Golden Parachute Save Him?

Back on October 10, 2023, following a horrific performance by the Ravens in Pittsburgh, I wrote an article titled Firebaugh. It was a knee-jerk reaction to the outcries from fans who were just fed up with John Harbaugh’s brand of coaching. Here’s an excerpt:

Far too often over the course of the last few years, we’ve watched the Ravens give away substantive leads. Games that should have been won, crept their way into the loss column, stemming in large part from the team’s inability to put opponents away – their apparent refusal to dig their heels into the throats of beaten foes and put games away. And then, as opponents creep their way back in the Ravens stumble. There’s another failed “operation” or another “miscommunication”.

If the miscommunication is an isolated incident, it becomes an opportunity to learn – a teaching moment for a coach. But if they happen repeatedly with no corresponding corrections, that’s failure. That’s coaching negligence.

The Ravens have far too much talent not to be winners and consequently, Harbaugh will win his fair share of games, even enough to punch a ticket to the postseason dance. But since the Ravens Super Bowl 47 win, the team has won just two playoff games. Something must give.

Two years later, the Ravens have now won four playoff games since Super Bowl 47. The same systemic problems still exist with blown leads and not playing to the level of their talent. That’s a coaching problem. The same coaching problem – and it’s reasonable to wonder if it will ever change on Harbaugh’s watch.

Maybe we could all use a little Fireball!

If things don’t change, and there’s little reason to think they will, does this organization essentially waste a generational talent like Lamar Jackson? I’ve beaten up on the team ad nauseum for ignoring the trenches from a personnel perspective. Imagine Lamar with a great offensive line. The Ravens could stake out commanding leads in each game like they did back in 2019, making opponents one-dimensional.

Then, they build a ferocious defensive front that can get after opposing quarterbacks with just four. Four guys, harassing the passer, with seven in coverage when the defense knows the opponent must throw to get back in the game.

This isn’t anything new. It’s not some unique revelation. But the Ravens get all caught up in their feelings, their analytics, positional metrics and good character instead of finding dawgs on the field of play. Who let the dogs out of Baltimore?

When the dust settles the Ravens are left with guards who get destroyed, quarterbacks who miss games, a pass rush that never gets home and playoff quarterbacks who surgically destroy a secondary forced to cover until the edge rushers count to Mississippi-7.

If the Ravens don’t make a miraculous turnaround this season, isn’t it time to take another approach? Maybe try something new?

Oh and by the way, no team in NFL history has EVER made the playoffs after starting the season (1-6). I guess John will consider that an “opportunity”.

But I digress…

Unfortunately for the Ravens, they don’t have a solid head coach in waiting on their staff. The only one that remotely fits that description is Chuck Pagano, but the Colts former skipper doesn’t want the job. The current coordinators are clearly not the answer. Come to think of it, has Harbaugh ever hired a true head coach in waiting on his staff? Maybe your knee-jerk response is to answer, “Mike Macdonald” but do you really think that Harbaugh expected his meteoric rise? I’d bet it caught John by surprise and maybe he had a few sleepless nights in Owings Mills, MD when it was time for Mac to graduate.

Let’s be honest. Macdonald was an outlier that even John and his coaching Pythagorean theorems didn’t see coming.

All that aside, maybe you’re one of those who say, “If Harbaugh is fired, he’ll get another job tomorrow.”

So what? Good for John! He’s earned it. His resume speaks for itself. Let him go enjoy success elsewhere like Andy Reid has since he left Philadelphia for Kansas City. Philly isn’t lamenting the move. They’ve won two Super Bowls since Reid’s departure. This kind of move defines a win-win situation. Why couldn’t the Ravens benefit from the same?

There’s also the camp that asks, “Well if John leaves, who out there is better?” I’ll answer that question with another. Did anyone think that a special teams coordinator from an (8-8) Eagles team would take the Ravens HC job and hang around for 18 seasons?

Cue up the crickets…

But screw it, let’s just keep the same regular season juggernaut/postseason failure regime that now exists in Baltimore because we’re afraid Harbaugh might have success elsewhere, because we’re afraid of change. Look, if things don’t change the Ravens could go on and on and waste the generational talent that is Lamar Jackson. And that 3rd Lombardi Trophy the city craves will remain elusive, perhaps perpetually.

Fans are pissed off but they don’t want to be pissed on! But more of the same and it will feel that way, right? Don’t piss down my leg and tell me it’s raining.

Look, I’m not suggesting that fans should make the tough decisions. That’s up to owner Steve Bisciotti. But the Ravens are in the entertainment business and fans determine entertainment value. And for now there’s little of it.

You’ve seen the embarrassing turnouts at home games lately. The stadium has been half full. Tickets on the secondary market were going for a fraction of face value. Concession sales are tanking. The tailgate lots look like a desolate part of West Baltimore. The scene is an apocalyptic caricature of our expectations for 2025.

You can’t change all the players although rest assured, change is coming given the salary cap picture for 2026. Change, if Bisciotti wants it, must come from the coaching ranks.

Following the Texans dismantling of the Ravens, boos cascaded from the stands courtesy of angry fans passionate enough to stick around until the end of that 44-10 shellacking. By the second half of the Ravens loss to the Rams, chants of “Fire Harbaugh” tumbled from above authored by the few thousand remaining diehards who have lost patience. Their faith nearing bankruptcy, PSLs practically worthless.

“Who’s got it better than us?”

Bisciotti has a tough decision to make – an expensive one too. If he cuts the chord with Harbaugh, the pink slip comes with a price. According to reports, Harbaugh is due $17M per season for the next 3 seasons – as in through 2028, thanks to the extension Harbaugh signed back in March 2025.

But really this is a choice between staying with ok enough and risking fan apathy triggered by Harbaugh fatigue or trying something new to inject more energy into the team, a new message, a new attitude, a new beginning.

We all just want to be entertained.

The post Will Harbaugh’s $50M Golden Parachute Save Him? appeared first on Russell Street Report.

Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2025/10/15/lombardis-way/harbaugh-on-thin-ice-in-october/