John Harbaugh explained why he “took a lot of pride” in final season coaching Ravens.
Harbaugh was fired earlier this year after 18 seasons in Baltimore. The Ravens went 8-9 and failed to make the postseason after Tyler Loop missed what would have been a game-winning and postseason-clinching field goal in a Week 18 matchup against the Steelers.
, “I took a lot of pride in what we did. I took a lot of pride in this season. Honestly, as a coaching staff, it might've been our best job this year coaching this team. I thought we did a great job. But it wasn't good enough in terms of getting us where we needed to get for whatever reason.” As the winningest coach in the history of the Ravens with a record of 180-113, Harbaugh has certainly had much greater moments and seasons than this past year, which culminated in his firing. From winning the Super Bowl at the end of the 2012 season to leading the Ravens to 12 postseason appearances over his tenure, it’s hard to look back at this past season as even close to his staff’s best coaching job. Not only did the Ravens fail to make the playoffs, but they heavily disappointed. Coming off a 2024 season that saw a couple turnovers and a dropped two-point conversion keep them from advancing to the AFC championship game, the Ravens were among the favorites to win the Super Bowl in 2025. Instead, they fell completely short of those expectations by starting the season 1-5 and coming well short of Super Bowl contention. Circumstances played a role in the Ravens’ falling short of their potential in 2025. Two-time MVP-winning quarterback Lamar Jackson missed multiple games due to injury and even after he returned, he still regularly missed practice time due to other ailments. The defense also dealt with several injuries during the season, which contributed to Baltimore finishing 24th in total yards allowed per game this past season. There is some credit to the Ravens for not completely collapsing after a 1-5 start and still contending for a postseason berth amid adversity. Still though, the Ravens cost themselves by losing four of their final six games. Whilein their first matchup against the Steelers, they also hurt themselves by blowing an 11-point fourth quarter lead to the Patriots in Week 16. Ultimately, the 2025 season is in the past, and both Harbaugh and the Ravens are moving on. Harbaugh will look to have an even better coaching job in his first season with the Giants, who are feeling optimistic after landing the coveted coaching candidate. New York finished with just a 4-13 record, but have a young nucleus featuring Jaxson Dart, Malik Nabers and Abdul Carter that could allow them to turn their fortunes around quickly with Harbaugh at the helm. Meanwhile, the Ravens are turning to one of the top defensive minds in the game in Jesse Minter to lead their franchise going forward. After Mike Macdonald’s success in Baltimore in 2023 and since with the Seahawks, the Ravens will look for Minter to produce similar results with their defense. Minter’s Chargers ranked fifth in total and passing yards allowed per game this past seasonEva Geitheim is an NFL writer at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in December 2024, she wrote for Newsweek, Gymnastics Now and Dodgers Nation. A Bay Area native, she has a bachelor’s in communications from UCLA. When not writing, she can be found baking or rewatching Gilmore Girls.
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