“The Team” is No More!

The Steve Bisciotti press conference back on January 13 was universally lauded both locally and nationally. ESPN’s Pat McAfee was effusive in his praise for the Ravens owner.

Steve Bisciotti NEEDS to be on a microphone more

HE’S BETTER THAN EVERYBODY

Listen to what he had to say yesterday #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/rbIb6HcY48

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 14, 2026

Bisciotti was refreshingly candid during the presser. When compared to John Harbaugh on the dais, whose oftentimes smug, condescending, guarded and calculated responses to questions seemed so disingenuous, the Ravens owner in one hour put a bow on the disappointing 2025 season and set the stage for brighter days ahead.

But there was one glaring mistake that Steve made that probably ruffled a few feathers. Bisciotti was asked by ESPN’s Jamison Hensley: “For you, what was the biggest reason that led to your decision, and when exactly did you make the decision to fire John Harbaugh?”

“I staked out a position that I thought I had come to with a lot of thought and a lot of prayer, and I gave it a lot of time, too. I think I talked to you, [Eric DeCosta], three or four weeks ago, and I guess the hardest part was the reasons and unfortunately, most of these can’t get traced back to John [Harbaugh], necessarily, but factually, we led the league in giving up big leads in the fourth quarter. It’s not something that winning organizations do. We have underperformed based on our seeding in the playoffs, [which is] very disappointing. [There were] a lot of players involved – a lot of our great players involved making mistakes that they don’t make during the regular season very often. But I just thought it was something that in the last 10 years, we’ve won the third-most games in the NFL, and yet people were saying we were underachievers, and so we were, and we had to own that.”

While turning towards DeCosta, the part of Bisciotti’s response that jumped out at me was, “I think I talked to you, three or four weeks ago”.

Now you know Harbaugh had to be watching this presser and if not, someone surely pointed out the “3 or 4 weeks ago” comment. DeCosta probably never said a word to Harbaugh about the secret plans. The “best friend” did nothing. But really, how could he?

DeCosta had to have been torn. He looked visibly uncomfortable on the dais beside Bisciotti. Perhaps he had an urge to say something to Harbaugh about Bisciotti’s clandestine recon mission. But therein lies risk for DeCosta. Had he confided in Harbaugh and then Harbaugh confronted Bisciotti, the shit could have hit the fan. A few have said that EDC was distraught when telling the coaches of Bisciotti’s decision. But I suspect that in Harbaugh’s mind, “best friend” was hardly a good wingman.

Since the firing, Harbaugh has had 3 opportunities to thank his “best friend”:

• His initial exit letter
• The introductory presser as the Giants new head coach
• And this letter in The Sun.

Not a single word about DeCosta.

Best friends. Next door neighbors. Collaborators for 18 years. Not a word.

DeCosta’s personality is such that if you cross him, he wants nothing to do with you. He’s a savant when it comes to The Godfather, and in part it influences his managerial style. I’ve been told that Harbaugh is similar. Harbaugh’s cold shoulder towards DeCosta is telling. It’s consistent with his passive-aggressive style we’ve seen so often during pressers. The omission was intentional.

Maybe one day the full story surfaces. Maybe they all play nice publicly because revealing hard feelings could be mentally exhausting to all involved. Bisciotti admitted during the presser how emotionally challenging the firing was on him. He also acknowledged how agonizing the firing was for DeCosta. Harbaugh’s dissing poured salt in the wound – it feels intentional.

At the end of the day, parting ways with Harbaugh was best for the Super Bowl 47 winning head coach and the team. John has always been focused on the team. He sat at the dais back in January of 2008 and emphatically stated that he would prioritize three things. The team, the team, the team. He said the same thing when introduced to the New York media.

And now that the Ravens have borrowed John’s credo, did what was best for the team, and dismissed him. What happens moving forward is anyone’s guess. But it’s safe to say that the relationship between DeCosta and Harbaugh has forever changed.

Watching those moving vans rolling in and out of their Caves Valley next door neighbor’s driveway, will leave an indelible impression upon EDC and his family. It’s a shame it had to end this way, yet the end was necessary.

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Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2026/01/29/lombardis-way/bisciotti-decosta-harbaugh/