{"id":397085,"date":"2026-01-07T08:25:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T08:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/397085\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T08:25:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T08:25:10","slug":"who-should-ravens-hire-to-replace-john-harbaugh-with-lamar-jackson-ravens-have-a-luxury-their-counterparts-dont","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/397085\/","title":{"rendered":"Who should Ravens hire to replace John Harbaugh? With Lamar Jackson, Ravens have a luxury their counterparts don’t"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the Cleveland Browns<\/a> and Las Vegas Raiders<\/a> interview head coaches in the coming weeks, they know the most important question they must answer: How will we identify and develop a young quarterback?<\/p>\n

When the New York Giants<\/a> and Tennessee Titans<\/a> interview head coaches, they, too, know the crux: First-round quarterbacks Jaxson Dart<\/a> and Cam Ward<\/a> need molding and development. The quarterback hopeful for each club is in the house. But how will he grow?<\/p>\n

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Shakeup at the top of the Atlanta Falcons<\/a> and Arizona Cardinals<\/a> will similarly require answers on a position with major question marks in 2026 and beyond.<\/p>\n

These answers need not all come via offensive head coaches during a hiring cycle riper with defensive candidates than offensive. And in many successful franchises, including the reigning Super Bowl champions, the head coach\u2019s primary responsibility is not to call offensive plays.<\/p>\n

But when teams front young quarterbacks or face questions at quarterback, the pressure to find the offensive panacea sharpens. Coaching searches often skew accordingly.<\/p>\n

So the Baltimore Ravens<\/a> hold a clear advantage.<\/p>\n

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Because as they announced Tuesday night that 18-year head coach John Harbaugh was \u201crelieved of his duties,\u201d<\/a> the Ravens are the lone team currently looking for a head coach that is not simultaneously searching to clarify their answer at quarterback.<\/p>\n

Recruiting coaches while two-time MVP Lamar Jackson<\/a> is under contract is a luxury.<\/p>\n

Sure, plenty will argue that just as the Ravens become the most attractive of seven NFL openings<\/a> and counting, Harbaugh immediately became the most attractive candidate when he hit the market. That doesn\u2019t mean the decision should be baffling. With a Super Bowl-winning coach and an MVP-winning quarterback, it should not be surprising if each believes he has the answers to future success. And if those answers don\u2019t align, a time comes for a change.<\/p>\n

But as the Ravens look for a coach who will end their 13-year Super Bowl drought, they won\u2019t need as strong an emphasis on developing a quarterback.<\/p>\n

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[Get more Ravens news: Baltimore team feed<\/a>]<\/p>\n

That could allow them, should they want, to select the best overall candidate first. Their ceiling will immediately be high.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have so much talent on this team, and it’s just disappointing that we’re not able to be the team that’s able to execute and win games when we need to win games,\u201d fullback Patrick Ricard<\/a> said this week. \u201cAs long as we have Lamar Jackson, I feel like this team can win a Super Bowl.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among 7 openings, Ravens\u2019 Jackson offers best QB by far<\/p>\n

A minority of coaches and executives across the league will argue that a coach in the Shanahan and McVay systems may prefer a more in-structure passer to build their offense around.<\/p>\n

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But more often, as the surprise of Harbaugh\u2019s dismissal hit Tuesday, league voices understood the new pecking order of openings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe jobs this cycle all lack QBs like normal so he\u2019s definitely the top QB and offense available for any coach,\u201d one NFC executive told Yahoo Sports.<\/p>\n

An AFC assistant added of Jackson: \u201cAny scheme fits him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackson has shown that in eight seasons since the Ravens selected him with the 32nd pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. He\u2019s earned four Pro Bowl berths, three All-Pro honors and two MVP awards while winning 76 of 107 regular-season starts.<\/p>\n

In aggregate, Jackson has completed 64.8% of his passes for 22,608 yards and 187 passing touchdowns to 56 interceptions. His 102.2 career passer rating and 8.25 air yards per attempt currently hold the all-time career records, per Pro Football Reference.<\/p>\n

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And those numbers don\u2019t even include Jackson\u2019s additional 6,522 yards and 35 touchdowns rushing.<\/p>\n

His health has been inconsistent at times, Jackson most recently missing four games and about half of another this season with hamstring and back injuries. But while healthy, he thrived. Consider his Week 18 return from a back injury in Pittsburgh with the AFC North title on the line. While the Ravens lost on a walk-off missed field-goal attempt Sunday night, Jackson completed 11 of 18 passes for 238 yards and three touchdowns.<\/p>\n

He activated another level in the fourth quarter, with 50- and 64-yard go-ahead touchdown passes to receiver Zay Flowers. The first came despite two defenders seeming to have Jackson wrapped up. Jackson was unfazed.<\/p>\n

\u201cShoot \u2014 I cut a nose guard loose, and he somehow slipped out of it and threw the ball [50] yards for a touchdown,\u201d center Tyler Linderbaum<\/a> said. \u201cThat’s the kind of ability he has. So, he\u2019s fun to play for. [He\u2019s an] ultra competitor, and any time that ball is snapped to him, and it’s in his hands, you know something electrifying can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe most electrifying player there is in this game.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Harbaugh\u2019s final Ravens game, Jackson didn\u2019t endorse him<\/p>\n

As reports of tension between Jackson and Harbaugh built this season, Jackson was asked last Thursday if he had a good relationship with Harbaugh.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I believe so,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t know where the noise came from. I don\u2019t know where the noise came from.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the Ravens\u2019 26-24 loss Sunday, Jackson was asked about Harbaugh again.<\/p>\n

Did he want to see Harbaugh as his head coach next season?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re asking me about next year,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cI\u2019m so caught up in what just happened tonight. I can’t focus on that right now, I just told you. Like he asked me, \u2018Are you stunned?\u2019<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m stunned right now, and I’m still trying to process what’s going on. I know we lost, but what the … you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sure, the emotions of the season\u2019s sudden ending were fresh as Jackson\u2019s Herculean fourth quarter wasn\u2019t enough to advance to a sixth playoff berth in eight years. But Jackson was not the first player to receive a question about his coach\u2019s future at season\u2019s end. He would not have been the first to endorse a leader after a loss, especially one 18 years into his tenure with the organization with a Lombardi Trophy to his name and an AFC championship game berth in partnership with Jackson.<\/p>\n

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Jackson did not choose that.<\/p>\n

By Tuesday night, Harbaugh was out. The Ravens thanked Harbaugh for a \u201ctremendous\u201d 18 years and the Super Bowl title.<\/p>\n

Harbaugh issued his own statement, curiously including a smiley-face emoji as he said goodbye with \u201cdisappointment certainly, but more with GRATITUDE & APPRECIATION.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Ravens’ coaching search, as team owner Steve Bisciotti said in a statement, begins. Their ability to move quickly on top defensive candidates including the Los Angeles Chargers<\/a>\u2019 Jesse Minter, Los Angeles Rams<\/a>\u2019 Chris Shula and Houston Texans<\/a>\u2019 Matt Burke could prove to be an asset.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s a dream backfield to have Lamar and Derrick [Henry]<\/a> and to play with those guys,\u201d Ricard said. \u201cI feel like, as long as they’re here, this team has a shot \u2014 no matter who else is playing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When the Cleveland Browns and Las Vegas Raiders interview head coaches in the coming weeks, they know the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":397086,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[1258,1276,64,63,631,5372,1238,5330,1255,1274,142536,628,1250,3052,1263,1242,593,86714,5132,61251,85,5350,1253,31888,75210,31890],"class_list":["post-397085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-arizona-cardinals","tag-atlanta-falcons","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-baltimore-ravens","tag-cam-ward","tag-cleveland-browns","tag-head-coach","tag-houston-texans","tag-jaxson-dart","tag-john-harbaugh","tag-lamar-jackson","tag-las-vegas-raiders","tag-los-angeles-chargers","tag-los-angeles-rams","tag-new-york-giants","tag-nfl","tag-patrick-ricard","tag-pittsburgh","tag-quarterback","tag-sports","tag-steelers","tag-tennessee-titans","tag-the-ravens","tag-tyler-linderbaum","tag-zay-flowers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=397085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/397086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=397085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=397085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=397085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}