John Harbaugh - an in depth look

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

Everybody needs to read this. It's awesome.

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/best-coach-jim-harbaugh-john-harbaugh/story?id=41297448

[redrum52]

I've been saying for years that BS running or roughing the kicker nonsense had a huge impact on the game.  Happy Harbaugh threw it in his face.  Good piece.

[Ravensfan23]

I always love going behind the scenes to see things that otherwise wouldn't be known. What went on with guys like Ray, Ed and Suggs are some of the reasons why Harbs is just a great coach and is so well respected. The fact that the Pats had to practice and come into a game vs the Ravens with trick plays that were nearly illegal show just how much respect Harbs gets for having his team ready to play each week. 

Not sure why there a group of people that want to run this guy out of town because he's a great coach and he fits this team so well. 

[The Mom Gene]

22 minutes ago, Ravensfan23 said:

I always love going behind the scenes to see things that otherwise wouldn't be known. What went on with guys like Ray, Ed and Suggs are some of the reasons why Harbs is just a great coach and is so well respected. The fact that the Pats had to practice and come into a game vs the Ravens with trick plays that were nearly illegal show just how much respect Harbs gets for having his team ready to play each week. 

Not sure why there a group of people that want to run this guy out of town because he's a great coach and he fits this team so well. 

Couldn't have said it better.

[The Mom Gene]

THAT ABOUT SUMS IT ALL UP.  Fantastic Article.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

6 hours ago, The Mom Gene said:

THAT ABOUT SUMS IT ALL UP.  Fantastic Article.

Great piece. Couldn't believe it hadn't gotten more attention around here. 

Awesome introspective piece. The honesty about the Ray, Ed and Suggs situations was really cool. I mean I think we always sensed something there, but didn't know specifics. The fact that some try to use those sometimes strained relationships as a knock on Harbs and not a testament to his mastery of handling personalities and getting them all to mesh towards one goal is beyond me. 

His handling of his transition into the job, away from Rex, and then away from Ray and Reed is beyond incredible. 

The story, in general, is amazing. For the life of me I can't understand why the guy doesn't get more credit. The numbers speak for themselves for the stats people. He passes the eye test, and has the respect of all the people who don't hand it out easily - yet he still gets vastly underrated. Glad the article pointed out that there's a legit argument for him to be the 2nd best coach currently in the league. 

And the parallel of the family story - the rivalry/friendship with Jim and how John had to work harder, take the less glamorous jobs, coach ST, etc... Just to get his shot. Love it. 

 

Must read for for any Ravens fan. Scratch that. Must read for any football fan. Actually must read for any human being. Just read it gosh darn it. 

[ravensdan]

The Ravens should get more credit. It takes stones to hire a special teams coach as your HC. That kind of forward thinking is what keeps this team ahead of the easy hiring of the hottest OC or the easy path of status quo with Rex. 

 

Theres no no doubt in my mind John is the second best coach in the league and the only one who's been able to consistently best the number one coach. No doubt in my mind that will bear out over the next decade. 

[52520Andrew]

8 hours ago, ravensdan said:

The Ravens should get more credit. It takes stones to hire a special teams coach as your HC. That kind of forward thinking is what keeps this team ahead of the easy hiring of the hottest OC or the easy path of status quo with Rex. 

 

Theres no no doubt in my mind John is the second best coach in the league and the only one who's been able to consistently best the number one coach. No doubt in my mind that will bear out over the next decade. 

And that number one guy helped us out a lot in recommending Harbs for us. Make no mistake, if we make a deep run this season, Harbaugh deserves a ton of credit.

[ravensdan]

10 hours ago, 52520Andrew said:

And that number one guy helped us out a lot in recommending Harbs for us. Make no mistake, if we make a deep run this season, Harbaugh deserves a ton of credit.

The other person that recommended Harbaugh was none other than Brian Billick 

[52520Andrew]

3 hours ago, ravensdan said:

The other person that recommended Harbaugh was none other than Brian Billick 

Yeah, quite a wrinkle

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

The other thing is how often former HCs are willing to come here and take lesser positions to work with Harbs. Spags and now Frazier taking position coaching roles. They know that's it's a spring board back to the top. 

His "coaching tree" ( even though some didn't get their start under him) is incredibly impressive for how short a time he's been a coach. Pagano, Teryl Austin, Manachino, Kubiak, Spags, Hue Jackson, Caldwell, Rex, etc...

Almost every coach has improved under him and gone on to immediate success after leaving. 

The fact that he leaves his ego at the door and hires guys better than him to handle offense, defense and ST is so rare in this league. And it's not that he doesn't know them, he just prefers to hire the right people and trust their expertise so he can focus on managing everything. His DNA is in everything though, and gives him input or pulls the reins when necessary. 

And then he never holds coaches back from great opportunities for themselves... And simply hires someone new and hardly skips a bit. 

Something like a third of the league has a HC, OC or DC that coached at the Ravens prior, and probably a quarter of the league has guys that worked under Harbs prior to getting their current job. 

GMs want guys who worked with Harbs plain and simple. And most have great success. 

And he's the one guy that has routinely had Tomlins, Belichicks and Jims numbers. 

Thats no coincidence. We're very lucky and he does a lot more than people assume. He has more input with the offense, defense and ST than people think. He just trusts he's hired the right people to implement his plan and doesn't need to micromanage. 

I love this guy and hope he's here a very long time. 

[Filmstudy]

On 8/11/2016 at 5:04 PM, BOLDnPurPnBlacK said:

Everybody needs to read this. It's awesome.

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/best-coach-jim-harbaugh-john-harbaugh/story?id=41297448

Exceptional piece.

Harbaugh is extremely polished, yet natural and down to earth.  He's paranoid as hell about giving information on injuries or strategy, but still tries to address each question at the podium, no matter how inane (ex: "How important are home playoff games?")

I know he would like to be straightforward, but can't always within the context of his job.  I try not to ask him questions which will force him to drift into coach speak.  I take his comments very seriously, and he's someone I respect both in terms of his accomplishments and how he handles himself personally.

I did a piece on something he said recently and I think it's pretty clear he knew what he was going to say if/when he got the question, but he did the best he could not to show up any of his constituents:

http://russellstreetreport.com/2016/07/29/camp-notes/ravens-defensive-backs-dime-defense/

He and Pees may or may not see eye-to-eye on the defensive scheme, but because John Harbaugh is John Harbaugh their dirty laundry won't be aired by him.

[Corvus_corax]

That was a really interesting article. Thanks for sharing.

I am still to this day fascinated by the firing of Cam Cameron. How it came about, who really pulled the trigger etc. That article would seem to hint that some of the players were fed up with how the offense was performing - or rather not performing - and so they would seem to be the drivers behind Cameron's removal. Without the input of the players would Harbs have taken that decision himself? It seems unlikely to me given that he seems like a pretty loyal kind of guy and he had a solid friendship with Cameron.

So that leads me to ask a further question about John Harbaugh. If he only fired Cam Cameron because he was losing the players, does it point to an inadequacy in his coaching makeup that he couldn't see for himself that the change had to be made? Or.................does it actually make Harbaugh an even better coach because he allowed his players to have their say, considered what had been said, and then proceeded to take the necessary action even though it was not a decision that was easy for him to make.

It is for me the most fascinating subplot of our Superbowl winning season.

Edited August 15, 2016 by Corvus_corax

[Moderator 3]

I Always thought the "trigger" for Cameron's firing was his insubordination and yelling at Harbaugh on the sidelines during a game.  Next day Cameron was out of here.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

3 hours ago, Corvus_corax said:

That was a really interesting article. Thanks for sharing.

I am still to this day fascinated by the firing of Cam Cameron. How it came about, who really pulled the trigger etc. That article would seem to hint that some of the players were fed up with how the offense was performing - or rather not performing - and so they would seem to be the drivers behind Cameron's removal. Without the input of the players would Harbs have taken that decision himself? It seems unlikely to me given that he seems like a pretty loyal kind of guy and he had a solid friendship with Cameron.

So that leads me to ask a further question about John Harbaugh. If he only fired Cam Cameron because he was losing the players, does it point to an inadequacy in his coaching makeup that he couldn't see for himself that the change had to be made? Or.................does it actually make Harbaugh an even better coach because he allowed his players to have their say, considered what had been said, and then proceeded to take the necessary action even though it was not a decision that was easy for him to make.

It is for me the most fascinating subplot of our Superbowl winning season.

I dont know whether or not he players spoke directly to having Cameron fired... but I dont think that event was the catalyst to firing Cam.

From everything I've read and/or heard about the situation, most of the players' frustrations were directed at Harbaugh and his treatment of the more veteran, more "star" type players. Whether practicing too hard, too long, keeping guys too late, taking away privileges they had in the past, not taking in their criticisms (and therefore in their opinion not respecting them from a football standpoint), etc...

I'm sure Cam and his offense were mentioned and a part of what some guys were mad about... but its not like the defense was carrying the offense that year. Yea, the offense played much better post-Cameron, but the defense sans Suggs, Ray, and Ngata for some time wasnt performing great itself.

Like a great leader does - Harbaugh fired Cameron because it was the right thing to do at the time. Sure, he probably took some input from the players who sensed it.... just like he probably took some input from Ozzie and Bisciotti who sensed it. But, ultimately Harbaugh himself knew it and made the decision himself.

It was a very talented team on the verge of losing some of its best, most veteran leaders and therefore had a closing window... that was good enough to win but not playing together and buying into the same message. Things were getting out of control.

So he made a drastic change that was justified not only because the offense needed a new direction, but because it showed that Harbaugh was willing to do what it took - even something that hurt him on a personal leve, firing his friend - to win a Super Bowl. I think after that everyone realized, ok, this guys in it for us and we need to be just as in it. Forget my petty opinion or gripe, and lets go win.

And so we did.

Edited August 15, 2016 by BOLDnPurPnBlacK

[AsianRice]

I didn't know the article was that long after I finished reading it.  It is absolutely a great piece to illustrate how good and effective John handling all the "impossible" issues throwing at him.  I would say handling all time HOF Ed and Lewis is the toughest task for any coach ever to come across, but John would able to mesh these guys into 1 specific goal: team, team, and team.  Our Ravens organization are lucky to have John as a HC.......

Lets just enjoy this moment of Ravens' success cuz we don't know what tomorrow is like.....