Harbaugh owns the most road playoff wins (eight) by a head coach in NFL history. Tom Coughlin, who led the Giants to two Super Bowl championships, and Tom Landry are second with seven apiece. Harbaugh is the only head coach to win a playoff game in each of his first five seasons.
General manager Joe Schoen said, “Throughout our conversations, John stood out for his clarity, competitiveness and approach for building a sustainable winning program. He has a strong track record of developing players, building cohesive staffs, and setting a clear standard of accountability. We are excited to work with John in moving this team in the right direction.”
During Harbaugh’s tenure from 2008 through 2025, the Ravens allowed the fewest touchdowns, points, rushing first downs, rushing yards, and third-down conversions. They also allowed the second-fewest first downs and total yards.
Offensively, Baltimore was No. 1 in that span in rushing yards and yards per carry, No. 3 in rushing touchdowns, and No. 6 in points per game.
In 2019, the Ravens posted a franchise-best 14-2 record. Baltimore won a team-record 12 straight games to close out the regular season, earning its first-ever No. 1 playoff seed. Harbaugh then became the first Ravens coach ever to win the Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year Award. He was also a finalist for the award in 2023.
“I want to thank John Mara, Steve Tisch, Chris Mara, and Joe Schoen for the opportunity to lead the New York Giants,” said Harbaugh. “To serve as this franchise’s head coach is a tremendous honor. I come from a football family, and I have deep respect for the history and tradition of this organization.
“I’m excited to begin assembling our staff and getting to work building our team. I would like to sincerely thank Steve Bisciotti and the Baltimore Ravens organization for 18 remarkable years, including the opportunity to become a head coach in the National Football League.
“My family and I are grateful for the welcome we’ve already felt, and we look forward to becoming part of the Giants family.”
The NFL awarded Harbaugh its 2013 Salute to Service Award, which acknowledges exceptional efforts by those in the league who honor and support military members. In 2012, the late Army Chief of Staff General Raymond Odierno presented Harbaugh and Coughlin with the Outstanding Civilian Service Award during a ceremony at Fort Myer in Virginia.
In 2012, Harbaugh became the third coach (with Bill Cowher and Chuck Knox) since the 1970 merger to guide his team to the playoffs in each of his first five NFL seasons as a head coach. With the Ravens’ 2014 playoff berth, Harbaugh became one of eight coaches in NFL history to make the postseason in six of their first seven seasons coaching.
John and his brother, Jim (while with the 49ers), are the only head coaches to advance to three conference title games in their first five years. Jim is currently head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, who won 11 games and made the postseason in both of his first two years with the team.
In a 2011 Thanksgiving Day matchup that featured the first-ever NFL game between head coaches who are brothers, John’s Ravens bested Jim’s 49ers, 16-6. The Ravens then topped the 49ers, 34-31, in Super Bowl XLVII.
John Harbaugh began his NFL coaching career with the Eagles in 1998, when he quickly established a reputation as one of the top special teams coordinators in the league. Subsequently, Harbaugh was one of four assistants retained by Reid in 1999 and remained with Philadelphia until he succeeded Brian Billick in Baltimore.
Harbaugh, a 1984 graduate of Miami (Ohio) University, was inducted into the Cradle of Coaches Association and immortalized with a statue at Yager Stadium. The statue of Harbaugh joined the existing ones of Earl “Red” Blaik, Paul Brown, Carm Cozza, Paul Dietzel, Wilbur “Weeb” Ewbank, Ara Parseghian, John Pont, and Glenn “Bo” Schembechler. The statues honor Miami graduates who have earned recognition as national collegiate or professional coaches of the year, who have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame or the Pro Football Hall of Fame, or whose teams won national collegiate or professional/Super Bowl championships.
Harbaugh attended Pioneer (Ann Arbor, Mich.) High School, where he and his brother, Jim, were inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2016. John and his wife, Ingrid, have one daughter, Alison, a 2024 University of Notre Dame alum who played lacrosse for the Irish and at South Florida (graduate year) and is currently attending law school at Loyola University Chicago.
The Harbaugh brothers’ sister, Joani, is married to longtime collegiate basketball coach Tom Crean. Their father, Jack, is a 41-year coaching veteran who won the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football championship as the head coach at Western Kentucky.
