Ravens HC John Harbaugh Disappointed Mom After Ignoring Career Demand, Says Western Kentucky Legend Dad

When it comes to the Harbaughs, their name and football go hand in hand. But it all starts somewhere. And for John Harbaugh, the legendary coach for the Baltimore Ravens, it had a simple beginning. It started with a big tackle, a heartfelt chat, a disappointed mother, and a plate of mashed potatoes. John Harbaugh’s father, Jack Harbaugh, has recalled the iconic moments that led his son on the path to coaching greatness.

John’s road to becoming a coach wasn’t something that was always set in stone. He played defensive back at the University of Miami, Ohio. And his dad still remembers a moment that sticks with him to this day. John came up with a huge tackle – snot running down his face, pure grit – right in front of Jack, who was coaching for Western Michigan at the time. That tackle was so beautiful that even Jack found himself quietly rooting for his own son over his team. But that’s all about John Harbaugh as a player. His coaching legacy started a little bit after that.

On the Adam Schefter podcast, Jack Harbaugh joined to discuss his sons, Jim and John, and how their early days shaped their coaching careers. Schefter asked, “When did you know John’s calling was coaching?” And Jack recalled that iconic play that had him rooting for John despite being the coach of the opposing team. But as far as Jackie, John’s mother, was concerned, she had different plans for her son. As Jack put it, “so he graduates and three points something student, excellent student in political science. And Jackie always wanted him to be a lawyer. Always going to be a lawyer, he’s going to be a lawyer. And then she even got maybe go into politics, and then eventually you’ll be the president of the United States. That’s kind of how she framed it all for him.” But John clearly had other plans.

After his graduation, one day John was sitting at the table with his parents. His mom asked, “well, what law school’s it going to be?” As Jack recalled it, “he goes, ‘mom’, I think I want to try coaching.’ To which Jackie went straight into the mashed potatoes. I swear to God, she made contact with the mashed potatoes.” Jackie’s initial reaction was a firm ‘no.’ But John stood his ground and said, “Mom, I’m gonna try it. I’m gonna, dad said he’s got a graduate assistant job here for me and I’m gonna try it. And if a year or so and it doesn’t work out, then it’ll be law school, and that’s what I want to do.” John became a graduate assistant at Western Michigan with minimal pay. He continued to live with his parents and drove to Michigan every day with Jack. And that was the beginning.

After he got his first chance, John Jarbaugh never looked back. He kept climbing. First as a special-teams coach at Cincinnati back in 1989. Then, a move to Indiana in 1997, and eventually a big opportunity in the NFL with the Eagles under Andy Reid. In 2008, John became the HC for the Baltimore Ravens, and he’s been there ever since. Under Harbaugh’s regime, the Ravens have earned a total of 12 postseason trips and 4 AFC Championship games so far. John even got the chance to go toe-to-toe with his brother Jim Harbaugh at the Super Bowl XLVII. The result? A 34-31 Super Bowl victory against the 49ers back then. And now, John Harbaugh will be leading the Ravens through his 18th season with the team. There have been some question marks around his retirement plans, and he has shed some light on that as well.

John Harbaugh makes his retirement stance clear

John Harbaugh holds the throne of the second-longest tenured coach in the league. The first place belongs to Mike Tomlin, who will be leading the Steelers for his 19th year running. As for Harbaugh, he signed a three-year deal with the Ravens back in March. With this, his tenure will extend through to the 2028 season. But as Harbaugh is getting older (he’s 62), there have been a lot of speculations about his retirement. Most recently, he was asked about this at the NFL Owners Meetings in March. His response?

John Harbaugh declared that he has no interest in retiring anytime soon. Right now, he’s focusing on taking the Ravens through another glorious season. At the Owners Meeting, he had doubled down on this and said, “I’m happy to be alive. I hope that continues for a while. Honestly, what [I’m] thinking about is how are we going to get better today? How can we get better? What do we need to do? Players, coaches, schemes.” As for the retirement talks, he’s not thinking about it with all his energy. “I mean, everybody thinks about it, but it’s not really forefront of my mind. I just hope I make it there to make a decision at some point in time.” John even shared the advice his dad had given to his brother, Jim. Keep doing it “until you just can’t take it anymore.” But that’s not when you walk away.

For Jack Harbaugh, the piece of advice was to wait till you don’t want to coach anymore. Then, “you coach for two more years and then you move on.” So, for now, John Harbaugh is all-in with the Ravens. We’ll keep seeing him on the sidelines at least till the 2028 season. If he does decide to hang up the jacket at that point, there would still be two more years before it actually happens.