By Alex Woodward
Despite reports of the two sides mutually parting ways back in Week 10 of the regular season, the Ravens have announced that they have given head coach John Harbaugh a 4 year contract extension.
It was an underwhelming head coaching class this offseason with teams looking for the "next Sean McVay" in Matt LaFluer taking the head coaching gig in Green Bay despite having the 25th ranked offense with the Titans in 2018. Kliff Kingsbury had a losing record at Texas Tech but the Cardinals still opted to give him their head coaching job. Adam Gase and his crazy eyes went from one AFC East team to another (Dolphins to Jets) and Bruce Arians is apparently healthy enough to be back as a head coach as he takes over for the Buccaneers.
#TBT to my -- -- first NY Jet Press Conference! #AdamGase #GaseEyes #GazeEyes pic.twitter.com/AiUh9PVS4f
— Adam Gase Eyes (@AdamGaseEyes) January 17, 2019The Ravens have preached continuity in their organization and with this extension they are staying true to their word. John Harbaugh is the 4th longest tenured head coach in the NFL right now behind Bill Belichick, Sean Payton and Mike Tomlin. Harbaugh got off to an incredible start as Ravens head coach, taking the team to 5 straight playoff appearances in his first 5 years. Baltimore went to the Conference Championship in 3 of those 5 years and that run was capped off with the teams second Super Bowl title in franchise history.
Since that Super Bowl win, the team has struggled to get back into the playoffs with just 2 appearances in the past 6 seasons. So what was the difference in his first 5 years compared to the past 6? First of all, he had a quarterback on a rookie contract in his first 5 seasons which frees up more cap space and he also had a strong core of players already on the roster.
If the team didn't finish their season 6-1 in the regular season to clinch their first playoff berth in 3 years and their first AFC North title since 2012, I believe Harbaugh would have been let go. Granted, he would have been hired quickly by another team if that were to happen but thanks to Lamar Jackson's impact on the team in the final 7 games, John Harbaugh is under contract to see out Lamar's rookie deal.
Lamar Jackson didn't save John Harbaugh's job. Yes, he was the spark the team needed on offense but it was no easy feat for Harbaugh to deal with reports of him losing his job, losing his franchise quarterback to injury and being forced to go to a rookie QB with a limited playbook. Many coaches have lost locker rooms for smaller reasons but the Ravens bought into the new team philosophy and in turn, bought into Harbaugh's leadership.
Now, with a new offensive coordinator (Greg Roman) a new General Manager (Eric DeCosta) and a young quarterback; the Ravens are hoping Harbaugh can recreate the magic of his first 5 seasons with the team.
It's no coincidence that Harbaugh's 4 year extension matches up with the remaining years on Lamar Jackson's rookie contract (5th year team option included). The Ravens have a lot of decisions to make this offseason with veterans hitting free agency or possibly being cut for cap purposes but they have 2 decisions they don't have to make for awhile - quarterback and head coach.
Lamar Jackson's success in his first 8 games as a starting quarterback is encouraging and the decision to promote Greg Roman to offensive coordinator is even more encouraging. With a full offseason to work with Lamar, the possibility of the most cap space they've had available in 6 years and a young core of guys like Ronnie Stanley, Orlando Brown Jr, Mark Andrews, Hayden Hurst and Marlon Humphrey; you could argue the Ravens are in a great position to make continuous runs into the playoffs. That is, if everything goes according to plan.
If Lamar doesn't pan out and the team continues to hover around .500, it wouldn't surprise anyone if they went in a new direction...but until we know what John Harbaugh can do with a re-boot of sorts, the Ravens are hoping he can bring them back to previous glory.
