Ravens' Steve Bisciotti Thought About Firing Coach John Harbaugh After Season
Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said Friday in his annual postseason session with media that he considered firing coach John Harbaugh after the team missed the playoffs for the third straight season
The owner said it ''was certainly a consideration, but not one that I was inclined to make this year.''
Harbuagh will be going into his 11th season as the Ravens head coach. Baltimore finished the year at 9–7.
"He's under as much pressure than probably he's ever been in his life, and I expect him to keep his chin up and take his positivity and his talents and make the most of the season," Bisciotti said. "I may as well replace him now if I tell him to make the playoffs or you're out of town next year. That's not the way we run business here."
Bisciotti also announced that general manager Ozzie Newsome's will step down at the end of the 2018 season.
Newsome signed a five-year extension in 2014 with the understanding that he surrenders the post to assistant GM Eric DeCosta at the end of the contract, Bisciotti said.
Newsome, 61, has been in charge of filling out the roster since the Ravens arrived in Baltimore in 1996. DeCosta, 46, joined the Ravens at an entry-level position in 1996 and was schooled by Newsome. Since becoming assistant general manager in 2012, DeCosta spurned numerous job offers from other teams with the assumption, then assurance, that he would inherit Newsome's job.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
