SI:AM | What’s Next for John Harbaugh and the Ravens After Surprising Split

It instantly makes the Ravens the most desirable open coaching job in the league and makes Harbaugh the most sought-after coach available.

John Harbaugh is out as coach of the Ravens after nearly two decades. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I’m still scratching my head at one of the strangest NHL box scores I’ve ever seen. The Islanders beat the Devils last night, 9–0, but New Jersey outshot New York 44–24. Devils captain Nico Hischier called it “flat-out embarrassing.”

In today’s SI:AM: 
⭐ Sportsperson of the Year
👋 Harbaugh canned after Ravens flop
🏈 Our NFL award winners

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Put another quarter in the carousel

The Ravens just threw the 2026 NFL coaching carousel off its axis. 

Baltimore made the shocking announcement yesterday afternoon that it had fired coach John Harbaugh after 18 seasons with the franchise. It’s a stunning move that instantly makes the Ravens the most desirable open coaching job in the league and makes Harbaugh the most sought-after coach available. 

The team’s decision came two days after it suffered a gut-wrenching loss to the Steelers in a do-or-die season finale when rookie kicker Tyler Loop missed from 44 yards as time expired. The Ravens finished the season at 8–9, only the third time in Harbaugh’s tenure that they’d finished below .500. It’s just the second time in the past eight years that Baltimore failed to reach the playoffs. 

It seems harsh to fire a Super Bowl-winning coach after nearly two decades with the franchise following a season in which the team missed the playoffs by one game, especially when the team’s All-Pro quarterback missed four games due to injury and was visibly diminished in others. But the decision apparently stems from the franchise’s desire to have a new voice in the locker room. 

“It is not just ‘they didn’t go far enough in the playoffs,’” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported. “My understanding after talking to several sources involved is that simply, Harbaugh lost the locker room.”

“It started, it sounded like to me, with Harbaugh and Lamar Jackson not being on the same page,” Rapoport added. “It continued throughout the locker room—maybe not 100%, but more than enough for the Baltimore Ravens.”

The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec similarly reported that “the dynamic between Harbaugh, offensive coordinator Todd Monken and star quarterback Lamar Jackson had grown awkward, particularly this season when there seemed to be weekly confusion about whether Jackson would or wouldn’t practice. Harbaugh was often the buffer between Monken and Jackson, whose personalities didn’t always mesh.”

Now that the Ravens have decided the best path forward is a fresh start, they’ll have their pick of potential candidates. No other team currently searching for a head coach is as set up for immediate success as Baltimore is. Any coach who’s offered the job would be foolish to turn it down in favor of one of the other openings. Possible candidates include Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury, who mutually agreed to part ways with Washington on Tuesday. Or, if the Ravens want to go with a defensive-minded coach, Jesse Minter, the defensive coordinator for the Chargers under Harbaugh’s brother, Jim, might make sense. Current defensive coordinators with prior head coaching experience, like Brian Flores (Vikings) and Vance Joseph (Broncos), could also fit the bill 

Harbaugh will have no trouble finding another job if he wants one. His agent, Bryan Harlan, told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that he’d received calls from seven NFL teams expressing interest in Harbaugh in the first 45 minutes after news of his firing broke. There are only six current head coaching vacancies (excluding the Ravens), so at least one team is apparently prepared to dump its current coach and go after Harbaugh. 

Schefter reported that Harbaugh was expected to be the favorite for the Giants’ job. It’s a move that would make a lot of sense. New York fancies itself as a serious, buttoned-up franchise, and a brand-name coach like Harbaugh would align with the image that ownership wants to project. The Giants also have enough of a foundation (an intriguing quarterback prospect in Jaxson Dart, lots of talent on the offensive and defensive lines and young star receiver Malik Nabers) to make them an appealing landing spot. 

As evidenced by Harbaugh’s agent’s claim, though, there’s also the possibility that Harbaugh’s sudden availability could truly turn the coaching carousel on its head and lead some team with a currently settled coaching situation to blow it up and go after Harbaugh. Would that be any less shocking than Harbaugh’s split with the Ravens?

SGA accepts Sportsperson of the Year award in Las Vegas

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander accepted his 2025 Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year award at a ceremony at the Wynn Las Vegas. / Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

Some of the biggest stars in sports were on hand last night at Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year Awards at the Wynn Las Vegas. Oklahoma City star and reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was named the 2025 Sportsperson of the Year, accepted his award from Thunder general manager Sam Presti and owner Clayton Bennett. Also honored and in attendance were Olympian Michael Phelps (Muhammad Ali Legacy Award), women’s basketball star Breanna Stewart (Innovator of the Year with Napheesa Collier) and Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (Breakout Star of the Year). Click here for full coverage of past and present SPOTY winners. 

The best of Sports Illustrated

Former Browns coach Kevin Stefanski is another top candidate this coaching cycle. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

• John Harbaugh may not be a young offensive prodigy or grizzled defensive guru, but he’s an expert in keeping his football team on the cutting edge, writes Albert Breer.
• Conor Orr details how Harbaugh’s firing just upended the NFL coaching market, with the best coach becoming available for hire since Andy Reid in 2013.
• Kevin Stefanski is a serious candidate for the Giants’ job—Breer has more on that and the GM front in his latest notebook.
• The MMQB staff reveals their selections for the NFL’s seven major awards.
• Bryan Fischer goes inside Ole Miss’s unprecedented College Football Playoff run amid coaching chaos.
• Chris Mannix explains why the Golden State Warriors' fading dynasty is running out of time.

The top five…

… things I saw last night: 
5. A windmill dunk by LeBron James that has to be the best dunk by a 41-year-old ever. 
4. This clip of Victor Wembanyama kicking the net. 
3. The controversial finish to the Texas A&M-Auburn men’s basketball game as Auburn’s deep buzzer beater was waved off following a replay review. 
2. Connor McDavid’s slick moves to slice through the defense on his way to the net. 
1. Luka Dončić’s preposterous shot to beat the shot clock buzzer.