An Era Comes to an End in Baltimore

It happened. Despite the lingering doubt that Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti would ever move on from John Harbaugh, he surprised everyone and decided to do exactly that, to close the book on a lengthy chapter in franchise history. The post John Harbaugh era has begun.

From most accounts, this wasn’t the plan when the team’s brain trust convened at One Winning Drive on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, to put the plans in motion for the offseason – plans that apparently had little to no liftoff. Word is that Harbaugh was unwilling to make the changes to his staff that Bisciotti wanted.

The terms of John’s contract give him complete freedom to build his staff as he sees fit. He wouldn’t budge on that. He would only agree to some minor concessions and that wasn’t enough for Bisciotti. They were at a crossroad. Either run it back in 2026 with the current staff mostly intact or blow the entire thing up and start over – begin the search for a new coach and the start of a new regime in Baltimore. To his credit, Bisciotti chose the latter.

From The Insiders on @NFLNetwork: The #Ravens parted ways with John Harbaugh today and among the reasons — They felt he lost the locker room. Including, but not limited to, Lamar Jackson. pic.twitter.com/ssAUrHE799

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 7, 2026

According to reports, GM Eric DeCosta didn’t want to move on from Harbaugh, preferring instead to broker some compromise between the head coach and the owner. And not just because he’s close to John figuratively and literally. It has more to do with the gargantuan offseason task ahead that awaits him. Adding a new head coach search to his massive to-do list is certainly not ideal. But now it is his new reality.

At the end of the day, John was only going to stay in Baltimore on his terms. There’s little doubt that he and his agent are keenly aware of the demand for his services. Therefore, Harbaugh had the luxury of taking a ballsy approach with Bisciotti. He was prepared to be dismissed. But ultimately, Steve is in control.

Bisciotti consulted with team captains. He considered the alternatives. And at the end of the day, the Ravens owner concluded that he wasn’t prepared to run it back the same way on Harbaugh’s terms and expect different results. Steve made the difficult and correct choice. The Ravens and John Harbaugh will both be just fine.

Yet there’s an emptiness that accompanies this monumental decision. John is a good man. A man of faith. The kind of guy you’d want in your corner because his loyalty knows no bounds. You want him on your wall. You want him as your next-door neighbor. Just ask Eric DeCosta. As right as this feels from a football perspective, from a human perspective it’s bittersweet. And really, quite sad.

Back in 2014, a dear friend, Harry O’Sullivan lost his battle with cancer. While fighting this demon, friends of Harry’s managed to cobble together a “Day of Greatness” for Harry, sponsored by the Nathan Chris Baker Foundation. He loved the Ravens, and his day included a limo ride to The Castle, a tour of the facility and a meeting with John Harbaugh.

John took time to spend with Harry and it fueled Harry’s hope, his desire to fight. Harry told me that, “Coach grabbed my hand and told me, ‘Harry, you are gonna beat this.’ I don’t know if I will but that was a great pregame speech!”

On another occasion, I was doing some work for No Persons Left Behind, an organization that, “builds lasting relationships with those directly impacted by combat during our nation’s armed conflicts”. I knew that John was very supportive of our armed forces and so I reached out to him to see if he could do a 1-minute ad to help promote the cause. Not only did John willingly tackle the project, he brought in the resources of the team’s amazing Media Group to deliver a professional presentation.

These acts of kindness speak to the man underneath that ball cap; the heart within the body we’ve observed along the Ravens sideline for 18 seasons. That always made it difficult for me to be so critical of John’s work in recent years but just like him, I have a job to do.

Today, we close the books on one era in Ravens history and eagerly await the start of its successor. I believe that time will be kind to John Harbaugh’s tenure in Baltimore. He’ll one day be inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor, and I look forward to that day with pride. And then if all goes well, we’ll get to hear John’s acceptance speech in Canton, Ohio when a bust in his likeness will decorate the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Here’s to your future John. And here’s to the future of the Baltimore Ravens.

Yesterday, both were winners.

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Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2026/01/07/lombardis-way/harbaugh-era-ends-in-baltimore/