Who's the Better Ravens Coach: Billick or Harbaugh?

[BmoreBird22]

i think joe deserves some kudos for realizing that there was one player who had a chance to convert, and even though it was a small chance, he still had the balls to give the right guy the play

I truly believe the play was always meant to go to Rice as long as the linebackers didn't sit on the shallow pass, but I give Joe props for trusting the play design and not trying to fling it deep.

[ravensdan]

I can't believe I'm getting sucked back into this thread. Lol. Long offseason. I don't understand why most of the assessments of the two coaches here are being made off of which players were brought in. That is irrelevant. That's the GMs job. Neither coaches are a bill parcels do it all type so I don't know why this continues to be brought up. At least argue the attributes of each concerning what they have full control and responsibility for.

[JoeyFlex5]

I truly believe the play was always meant to go to Rice as long as the linebackers didn't sit on the shallow pass, but I give Joe props for trusting the play design and not trying to fling it deep.

yea I think so too, but I think most qb's are simply not gonna trust that design.

[Tenacious Faulker]

I can't believe I'm getting sucked back into this thread. Lol. Long offseason. I don't understand why most of the assessments of the two coaches here are being made off of which players were brought in. That is irrelevant. That's the GMs job. Neither coaches are a bill parcels do it all type so I don't know why this continues to be brought up. At least argue the attributes of each concerning what they have full control and responsibility for.

How can you say that when it was very clear that Billick was the force in bringing Boller to the Ravens AND for keeping him for 6 seasons.  That's common knowledge and by Billick's own assertions.

 

Coaches have a major hand in bringing in talent, just not the final sayso.  Otherwise what's the point?

[BmoreBird22]

yea I think so too, but I think most qb's are simply not gonna trust that design.

I remember watching Joe dump it off to Rice and that was painful for me to watch, so I can't imagine what Joe thought

[Tenacious Faulker]

Here is a recent article debating the merits of the two coaches.

 

http://mudncleats.com/frontend/ccc/ravens/2014/06/25/ravens-vs-best-head-coach-in-ravens-history/

[display name]

Here is a recent article debating the merits of the two coaches.

 

http://mudncleats.com/frontend/ccc/ravens/2014/06/25/ravens-vs-best-head-coach-in-ravens-history/

That was interesting to read. I think that one of the only areas where Billick was truly better than Harbs was in hiring coordinators.

Marvin Lewis, Mike Nolan, Rex Ryan vs. Cam Cameron, Greg Mattison, Dean Pees, Jim Caldwell, Juan Castillo.

I did say that I thought Billick was a better in-game coach, but the statistic on challenges that the guy brought up in the article is making me rethink that idea.

Edit: I will also add that Billick was the better motivator. He knew how to get the players fired up (he frequently invoked the "us vs. the world" mentality) and as a fan you could get a lot more out of watching his press conferences than you could from Harbaugh's.

[True_to_52]

This is John Harbaugh quite easily. 

[display name]

This is John Harbaugh quite easily. 

I'm surprised by how many people don't agree with this. And as was also said in Tenacious Faulker's article, Billick had more individual stars than Harbs (including both players and coaches), but Harbs knew how to build a complete team.

I think that one of Harbaugh's best attributes is his focus on depth. Billick was generally unable to keep the Ravens from collapsing after a few high-quality starters went down. In 2002 (R. Lewis), 2004 (Heap and Boulware), 2005 (Lewis & Reed), and in 2007 (McAlister, Heap, McNair, and others) the Ravens couldn't keep going due to severe injuries to key players. Billick simply did not have the depth to replace them.

And Harbaugh did. 2012 is an excellent example of this. If Billick had that many injuries we would not have had a winning season that year.

[True_to_52]

I'm surprised by how many people don't agree with this. And as was also said in Tenacious Faulker's article, Billick had more individual stars than Harbs (including both players and coaches), but Harbs knew how to build a complete team.

I think that one of Harbaugh's best attributes is his focus on depth. Billick was generally unable to keep the Ravens from collapsing after a few high-quality starters went down. In 2002 (R. Lewis), 2004 (Heap and Boulware), 2005 (Lewis & Reed), and in 2007 (McAlister, Heap, McNair, and others) the Ravens couldn't keep going due to severe injuries to key players. Billick simply did not have the depth to replace them.

And Harbaugh did. 2012 is an excellent example of this. If Billick had that many injuries we would not have had a winning season that year.

Billick was coming off that Moss and high powered Vikings offense hype but he wasn't terrible but not nearly as good as Harbaugh. 

[display name]

Billick was coming off that Moss and high powered Vikings offense hype but he wasn't terrible but not nearly as good as Harbaugh. 

Exactly. I'll defend him against anyone who says he was a horrible coach.