Following a completely disappointing campaign for the Baltimore Ravens, John Harbaugh was fired after 18 seasons as the franchise’s leader.
When Harbaugh was fired, it was clear that he and Lamar Jackson, the two-time MVP quarterback, were not on the best of terms.
Not long after he was introduced as the New York Giants’ newest head coach, Harbaugh did his best to shoot down that narrative while praising his current QB.
“Great relationship with Lamar,” Harbaugh said earlier this week in an interview with WFAN 660. “Everything has been really positive. Ask him, he’ll tell you. We love each other. We tell each other we love each other. He’s one of my favorite people.”
During the salad days of Harbaugh and Jackson together, the Ravens offense hummed at a historic level. In 2019, Baltimore’s offense led by Jackson set an NFL record 3,296 rushing yards. Jackson rushed for 1,206 yards – the most single-season total for a QB. It was the first of his two 1,000-yard rushing seasons, a feat unmatched by any other quarterback. It also marked his first MVP campaign.
In his second season in 2024, Jackson had 41 touchdown passes.
Indeed, when Jackson is on, he’s been an other-worldly talent producing garish numbers. That’s what Harbaugh wanted people to remember most.
“We revolutionized offensive football with Lamar Jackson,” he said. “I don’t know why there isn’t more written about it. So let’s talk about it more.”
As narratives swirled last season about Harbaugh and Jackson’s relationship, the negative buzz peaked at the end of the season.
Jackson did little to dispel the idea after the Ravens’ Week 18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers when asked if he wanted Harbaugh back, and instead of offering the default “of course,” said he wasn’t ready to talk about next season.
Days later, Harbaugh was ousted. However, former offensive coordinator Todd Monken did his best to dispel the unrest theory, and now Harbaugh has too.
Harbaugh continues with a new dual-threat quarterback in Jaxson Dart as he aims to lead the Giants back to glory.
As for Jackson, he’ll be facing the second head coach of his NFL career next season: Jesse Minter. Meanwhile, many will still be waiting for him to know for the first time how things ended with Harbaugh.