Entering Sunday night’s game against the Steelers, the Ravens were focused on the unexpected opportunity to parlay a down season into another AFC North title. Now that yet another season has failed to fulfill preseason expectations, decisions will need to be made.
Most immediately, owner Steve Bisciotti has to decide whether to bring coach John Harbaugh back for a 19th season. The same questions that emerged when it appeared the Steelers were destined to miss the playoffs apply to the Ravens.
Is it time for a fresh start, for the team and/or the coach? Does it make sense to part ways mutually? Could a trade to another team be engineered?
Harbaugh has a say in this. He has earned that much. If he’s ready to move on, the Ravens should respect that, the same as the Steelers should respect a desire by Mike Tomlin to make a change after nearly two decades on the job.
If Bisciotti thinks it makes sense to change coaches, he needs to be confident he can find someone as good or better. He also needs to be willing to witness what Harbaugh would do with another team. Possibly in the same conference, with a team like the Titans. Possibly in the same division, with a team like the Browns.
Then there’s the Lamar Jackson factor. Both sides are saying all the right things. But there’s enough smoke to get someone to make the call and see what it would take to get the two-time MVP quarterback. (If, of course, another team is willing to pay a steep price to the Ravens and is able to work out a new contract with Jackson, who is signed for only two more seasons.)
The lone Super Bowl appearance under Harbaugh now resides 13 years into the rear-view mirror. The same concerns that have been expressed about the Bengals’ inability to win a Super Bowl with Joe Burrow and the Bills’ inability to win a Super Bowl with Josh Allen apply to the Ravens and Lamar Jackson.
For the Ravens particularly, the failure to get to the AFC Championship more than once is glaring. They’ve been the top seed twice since Jackson became the starter. Far too often, they can’t deliver in the big moments.
This year, they weren’t even able to get a ticket to the dance, thanks to way too many blown leads.
Maybe it’s just time. Few coaches have been with any team for as long as Harbaugh has been with the Ravens. And, yes, there’s a very good chance Harbaugh would be immediately more successful with a new team than the Ravens would be with a new coach.
That has to be a factor in Bisciotti’s decision, even if there’s no reason to think that a trend dating back to 2019 will suddenly change if the status quo extends into 2026.
