Pro Football Rumors
This coming Tuesday, Ravens team owner Steve Bisciotti will meet with the media to do an interview with reporters for the first time in four years, per a report from The Athletic, featuring Dianna Russini, Jeff Zrebiec, and Ian O’Connor. The topic of discussion will center around his ultimate decision to dismiss John Harbaugh, the head coach of the past 18 seasons and only the third in the head coach in the franchise’s 30-year history.
Harbaugh’s tenure as the head coach in Baltimore came to an end following a loss in the team’s regular season finale that determined if the Ravens would have a winning record, win the AFC North, and make the playoffs in 2025. The following day, Harbaugh met early Monday morning with general manager Eric DeCosta, executive vice president (and former general manager) Ozzie Newsome, and team president Sashi Brown. The meeting was intended to be a discussion about Harbaugh’s vision for the team and staff moving forward, and though an “unsettled” feeling hung in the room, the thought was still that momentum was moving in the right direction for Harbaugh.
Following the meeting, Harbaugh led a final team meeting with 2025’s roster and roamed around the locker room as players cleaned out their lockers and said goodbyes for the offseason. Many of the players in the building reportedly expected some level of change at the assistant coach or coordinator level, but expectations were that Harbaugh would be returning.
The next day, Bisciotti reportedly began to meet with multiple players throughout the day to discuss their thoughts on Harbaugh and the direction of the team, with one player even reportedly meeting at Bisciotti’s house for the discussion. Like has been seen from differing reports between NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and ESPN’s Adam Schefter, even the players inside the building had different views of Harbaugh and his hold on the locker room, which perhaps speaks to his actual hold on the locker room.
There had been notable grumbling throughout the year about the coaching staff, most notably concerning Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Todd Monken. Per a joint report from ESPN’s Jamison Hensley and Jeremy Fowler, players showed discontent with Monken’s playcalling. Some disagreement on the team’s run/pass balance, targets for certain pass catchers, and star running back Derrick Henry‘s usage was noticed throughout the year. Any vocalization of these issues likely rang lout in Bisciotti’s ear as Harbaugh appeared willing to run it all back with the coordinators returning to their roles from last year.
Some players felt Harbaugh “rubbed some people the wrong way,” citing team meeting in which Harbaugh would reportedly deliver a mixed, contradictory message. The example given noted Harbaugh’s preaching on focusing on the short-term and what’s right in front of them before going on a tangent that strayed into the long-term. There were assertions that he didn’t click with the team’s younger, more-talented players. Others in the building noted that the locker room had both supporters and dissenters but that most complaints...
