Part of John Harbaugh’s demise in Baltimore had to do with his losing the locker room.
The Ravens announced that Harbaugh was out on Tuesday, just days after Baltimore had seen their season come to an end in heartbreaking fashion in a “Sunday Night Football” loss to the Steelers.
But the decision wasn’t based solely on the Ravens not reaching the postseason, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported, it was “simply Harbaugh lost the locker room.”
“At the end, players just simply had doubts about whether or not they wanted to play for him as their head coach,” Rapoport said. “The opinions of players was valued here, it was listened to, it went to all levels and it’s not just Lamar Jackson. Now it started, it sounded like to me, with Harbaugh and Lamar Jackson not being on the same page. It continued throughout the locker room, maybe not 100 percent, but more than enough for the Baltimore Ravens to say among the reasons to move on, this was a big one.”
The Ravens had missed out on a playoff appearance for the first time since 2021 and finished the year with an 8-9 record.
The relationship between Harbaugh and Jackson had been under the spotlight in recent weeks and The Baltimore Banner’s Giana Han noted in a report following the firing that the disconnect between the players and coach had “seemed to show in little ways.”
Harbaugh expressed appreciation for his 18 years with the organization, which included leading the Ravens to a Super Bowl title in 2012 season, in a statement released after the announcement.
“Well, I was hoping for a different kind of message on my last day here, someday, but that day has come today,” Harbaugh said. “It comes with disappointment certainly, but more with GRATITUDE & APPRECIATION. Gratitude to the owner and organization who was willing to bring in a head coach who made his mark with special teams success. A difficult thing to do … and Appreciation for all the moments, all these years, that are etched into eternity.”
