Ravens: ‘They hired him for a reason’

Along the Baltimore Ravens’ road to the playoffs Sunday one year removed from a disastrous 5-11 campaign that ushered out the Brian Billick era, Harbaugh’s beliefs, character, leadership and sense of humor have continually been on display as a rookie head coach.

Whether it was how he handled internal discipline problems with cornerback Chris McAlister and running back Willis McGahee quietly behind the scenes, won over hardened veterans like middle linebacker Ray Lewis and defensive end Trevor Pryce that have heard every motivational saying or made a special point of consulting older players on how to approach the Christmas holiday or guiding the team through enduring 15 consecutive weeks without a break, everything about the Ravens’ surprising season has carried the Harbaugh touch.

Nearly a year after team owner Steve Bisciotti relied on his gut instinct to hire a relatively unknown Philadelphia Eagles assistant to run his football team after Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett turned down the Ravens’ job offer, that decision has paid dividends with the Ravens (11-5) returning to the playoffs and currently favored by three points in Sunday’s AFC wild-card game against the Miami Dolphins.

"They hired him for a reason," wide receiver Derrick Mason said. "Had he ever been a head coach? No, but there are some head coaches who have done it their whole life and couldn’t get the job done. One thing was whatever he was trying to preach, to buy into it. Then, some success is going to come out of it."

Harbaugh had his work cut out for him when he took over the Ravens last January.

He had never been a head coach before at any level. The Ravens had injury and attitude problems that manifested themselves on a regular basis last year. Plus, starting quarterback Steve McNair and future Hall of Fame offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden opted to retire during the offseason.

By building a strong coaching staff that features offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and defensive coordinator Rex Ryan and instilling a hard-nosed work ethic and a more demanding training regimen, Harbaugh has revitalized the Ravens. This marks their first playoff appearance since a franchise-record 13-3 mark in 2006 that ended in an AFC divisional playoff loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

"It’s been a great transition," Pryce said. "You know what? I’m proud for the team, but I’m happy for him. I don’t know if everybody thought he could do it, but we bought into it and it’s been great. He didn’t blink once, not once, from the things he wanted to do. He had a plan and he stuck with his plan.
 
"You have to respect a coach that win, lose or draw he says, ‘This is what we’re going to do,’ and not, ‘Let’s change this or that.’ The great thing about John once he set a path, he wasn’t going to deviate from it. His path was that he wanted to do the right thing for his team."

Harbaugh has definitely had the courage of his convictions and has been a strong disciplinarian whenever it’s been called for.

Although injuries were also a factor, Harbaugh benched McAlister for violating team rules, including showing up late for meetings prior to a 31-3 loss to the Colts. Eventually, McAlister was placed on injured reserve and had knee surgery.

But the Pro Bowl cornerback lost his clash with the coaching staff long before that decision was made.

McGahee led the Ravens with 1,207 rushing yards last season, but admittedly showed up out of shape for training camp and skipped valuable minicamps where a new offense was installed. Deemphasized in the game plan as fullback Le’Ron McClain and rookie Ray Rice have had good seasons, McGahee hasn’t been completely banished and has made valuable contributions in the past two weeks.

Despite criticism from media and fans of McGahee, Harbaugh has stuck behind a player who hasn’t meshed ideally with the new regime in order to get the maximum production out of the former centerpiece of the offense for the greater good of the team.

When asked how Harbaugh handles discipline issues, Pryce replied: "The way a head coach should. Sometimes, you have to take yourself away from the team, be a disciplinarian with certain things. I think he did the right thing in every case."

When Harbaugh took over the Ravens, he had large signs that say, "Team, Team, Team," emblazoned all over the training complex.

Harbaugh continually has called the players "mighty men," which draws amused smiles from reporters, but his praise has paid off with mutual respect.

"He tells us all the time that he’s proud to stand with us as our coach on Sundays," Pryce said. "How could you not want to play for someone who is proud to be your coach? You play hard because it’s your job, but he makes it more fun to do it."

The son of successful former Western Kentucky and Western Michigan coach Jack Harbaugh, Harbaugh had designs on being a head coach one day for a long time, including during stints working for his father as a young assistant.

"You could see then that he had a love and a real passion for the game, not only the X’s and O’s, but he cared deeply about the players he coached," said Jack Harbaugh, who has become a fixture around the team at practices, meetings and games. "John had, and still has, tremendous character and integrity. With those qualities, you know that if you work your way through the ranks, hopefully, good things will happen."

Now, Harbaugh is paired against fellow first-year head coach Tony Sparano on Sunday at Dolphin Stadium.

Neither had been a coordinator in the NFL ranks prior to being tabbed during the offseason to take on major leadership roles.

"I think it says something about two organizations and the jobs that the players did this year," Harbaugh said. "It’s two teams having good seasons and playing well and making the playoffs, more than anything else."

Remaining true to form, Harbaugh has deflected introspective questions about his feelings and the reasons behind his career progression.

"It’s a good question, but I haven’t thought about it," he said. "That’s the type of stuff you think about when the season is over. We’re excited. Our team is excited. The coaches are excited. The organization is excited to go play a meaningful game in January, and that’s what we’re about to do."

Besides instilling toughness through more physical practices, Harbaugh has also demonstrated a capacity to care. He didn’t rush cornerback Samari Rolle back to work when his father, Harry Rolle, died of a sudden heart attack, encouraging him to take as much time as he needed to grieve.

Where Billick’s occasionally high-handed message had grown stale with some older players after nine seasons, Harbaugh has been described as a breath of fresh air.

"We have a new leader," Rolle said. "He’s humble. He treats everybody with respect. You have no choice but to play hard for a coach like that."

Harbaugh gave veteran players ages 30 and over every third day off during a grueling training camp at McDaniel College and gradually built in more time off into the practice schedule when the Ravens were forced to have their bye in the second week of the season when Hurricane Ike caused the postponement of their game against the Houston Texans. Plus, he gave the entire team Christmas off prior to a pivotal regular-season finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

"I think really what’s most impressive about coach is just his flexibility with his players," said Lewis, who has championed Harbaugh’s team concept and even cancelled his radio show at team officials’ suggestion prior to the season. "He’s very interactive with his players. There’s really no decision he makes without coming to us to really figure out what’s best for the team.

"That’s a great thing to have when you have a first-year coach and you’re trying to adapt to things. You realize that he’s not just trying to run you into a program and say, ‘Do what I do, do what I say.’ It’s about what makes us better as a team, that’s what you appreciate about him just from a man’s perspective."

Harbaugh allowed the players to vote on what to do about Christmas before suggesting an even more inviting schedule change. He said they could practice on Tuesday, which is usually their normal day off, and take Thursday off for Christmas Day to be with their families.

"He asked, ‘Well, what do you want to do?’ We were arguing about whether it should be Christmas morning, after Christmas morning," Pryce said. "He said, ‘Why don’t we try this? And we said, ‘Yeah, that’s it.’ That’s the kind of guy he is.

"The Christmas thing was a big thing. That was his idea. He doesn’t want to be out on an island by himself."

More than anything, Harbaugh has demanded attention to detail and timeliness while delegating authority to his coordinators. With a rookie coach and an impressive rookie quarterback in first-round draft pick Joe Flacco, the Ravens have defied low expectations and enter the playoffs having won 9 of the past 11 games.

Harbaugh has straddled the line between being a so-called players’ coach and instilling a harder edge for a team that was known for complaining about officiating a year ago and drawing costly personal fouls. Now, the Ravens run a tighter ship under Harbaugh.

"He’s always the same, there’s no maybe, no waffling," Pryce said. "He means what he says and says what he means. When minicamp was over, you could see the enthusiasm in him. When training camp started on the third day when he told me to take my pads off, I was like, ‘Wow, what’s this. Count me in.’ I bought in."