John Harbaugh fired after 18 seasons as Baltimore Ravens head coach

Black Monday in the NFL has arrived, and it had a few surprises. Most of the coaches on the hot seat were let go, but at least one team did not pull the trigger.

That drama, however, was offset by the firing of John Harbaugh by the Baltimore Ravens, who has taken his team to the playoffs in 67% of the seasons he has coached there.

Black Monday

Two teams, the Titans and Giants, had already moved on from their coaches before the season ended, but that room would get pretty crowded on Monday.

The Falcons, Browns, Raiders, and Cardinals all fired their coaches, with the Raiders firing Peter Carroll a bit surprising.

What stunned me, at least for now, is that the Miami Dolphins decided to keep Mike McDaniel. How he survived this season is beyond me.

The true surprise, however, was John Harbaugh, who only missed the playoffs because his kicker could not nail a walk-off kick.

Plenty of Success

Harbaugh joined the Ravens in 2008, and it did not take him very long to produce results.

During the 2012 season, Harbaugh led the Ravens to the Super Bowl, where they beat the San Francisco 49ers 34-31.

His overall playoff record is 13-11, but the team has struggled since that Super Bowl win, having only made it to the conference championship once since then.

Some would say this mimicked what happened to Andy Reid in Philadelphia, in that Harbaugh will likely get hired first among the other candidates, but maybe his message was just not getting through in Baltimore any longer.

Time to Go

To my last point, on Tuesday, the Ravens decided to part ways with Harbaugh,  with the owner, Steve Bisciotti, stating, "Following a comprehensive evaluation of the season and the overall direction of our organization, I decided to make a change at head coach. Today I informed John that he has been relieved of his duties.

"This was an incredibly difficult decision, given the tremendous 18 years we have spent together and the profound respect I have for John as a coach and, most importantly, as a great man of integrity."

Harbaugh was far from bitter, stating, "Gratitude to the owner and organization who was willing to bring in a head coach who made his mark with Special Teams success. A difficult thing to do… and Appreciation for all the moments, all these years, that are etched into eternity. I hope a legacy built on Faith, always Fighting, always Believing."

I believe he is actually welcoming the change, and I think some of the players in the locker room felt the same way, as there was not much outrage after the announcement was made. There are plenty of openings in the league, so Harbaugh will now be atop every one of those interview lists, so don’t expect him to be out of work for too long.