Ravens Taking Major Risk With John Harbaugh Move

The Baltimore Ravens are throwing a wrench into the head coaching carousel after firing John Harbaugh after 17 years with the franchise.

The decision was made just a few days after the Ravens lost in Week 18 against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a game that would have helped them qualify for the playoffs and win the AFC North title. Now the Ravens will scour the coaching community to find their next head coach. It's a position they haven't been in since 2008, when George W. Bush was president.

While many may have an opinion on the move, it is very difficult to move on from a Super Bowl-winning coach, and it's something the Ravens may end up regretting someday.

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh walks off the field after the game against the Green Bay Packers. | Kayla Wolf-Imagn Images

Ravens Can't Deny Harbaugh's Legacy

Harbaugh has led the Ravens to 13 playoff wins, including eight on the road. He finishes with a 180-113 record in regular season play, good for a .614 winning percentage. He ranks 14th all-time in NFL wins behind Sean Payton, Chuck Knox, Dan Reeves, Mike Tomlin, Chuck Noll, Marty Schottenheimer, Paul Brown, Curly Lambeau, Tom Landry, Andy Reid, Bill Belichick, George Halas, and Don Shula — all of whom should be in the Hall of Fame if they aren't already.

The next head coach that the Ravens bring in is not going to have a legacy as large as John Harbaugh's. There is no guarantee that the Ravens are getting an upgrade with whoever they choose to replace him. That could signal the beginning of the end of this era of Ravens football.

Sometimes change can be good, and that's what the Ravens are hoping for at this moment in time. But these types of head coaches don't fall off trees every day. There are teams across the NFL that struggle to have even a fraction of the success Harbaugh has had. To roll the dice and gamble on someone else filling in these very large shoes is quite the risk.

Clearly, the Ravens had their motive to move on from Harbaugh and get some fresh perspective in the building. However, that person will have to likely start from scratch and build a culture that took years for Harbaugh to build.

The Ravens' culture is one of the best in the NFL, so his dismissal leads to the eradication of that, which could be cause for concern down the line. His successor won't have an easy task.

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