Baltimore and Harbaugh had appeared close to parting ways years ago, during a three-plus season slump that followed the tremendous success he experienced early in his tenure.
In his first season in 2008, Harbaugh led the team all the way to the AFC Championship game with rookie Joe Flacco, starting a five-year playoff streak that ended with a Super Bowl victory.
After an 8-8 season with a Super Bowl hangover in 2013 and a bowl game loss the following campaign, the Ravens failed to make the postseason in 2015-17.
Heading into week 10, the bye week at 4-5 in 2018, divorce felt imminent. Only Harbaugh then handed the reins to Jackson, then a first-round pick, and the Ravens won six of their last seven to take the AFC North.
Partnered with Jackson, Harbaugh and the Ravens once again emerged as annual threats, just missing the playoffs in the 2021 season and this most recent one. However, each of those postseason trips ended in disappointment, seemingly capping league play outside of the ’23 campaign.
Jackson has won two MVPs, but he battled a string of injuries from 2021-22 that fueled murkiness over a possible extension in the 2023 offseason. One was eventually struck, though questions about his place in Baltimore have resurfaced in the Ravens’ injury-plagued slump this season. He also declined to discuss his future immediately after the season-ending loss to the Steelers.
It will now be something for general manager Eric DeCosta and another head coach to answer.
Harbaugh, 63, just the third coach in Ravens history, is sure to be a candidate for every other team available in the league.
The Ravens will continue their search for their fourth head coach in their 30-year history, hoping this season’s setback was temporary and they need to find a way to go from so close for so many years to a Super Bowl winner soon.