Piece on Harbaugh in the Athletic

**JimZipCode** · 07-07-2020, 01:19 PM

From the same guy who did that long feature on how Lamar wound up with the Ravens:

At the heart of it all: John Harbaugh’s journey enriched by strengthened bonds
by Dan Pompei · 7/7/2020
https://theathletic.com/1899732/2020...ngthened-bonds

The older Harbaugh gets, the blurrier the line between coach and father becomes.

He attributes much of that to Alison. He says he sees his players differently because of her. Harbaugh started to feel obligated not only to his team, his fans and his players, but to his players’ parents.

“When she would come home frustrated or disappointed in sports, it was all I could think about,” he says. “It made me really develop and grow with the way I talk to players. It forced me to check my own heart first. Is my heart for the player? If this was my son, what would I want to hear, need to hear? It’s a cliché: Treat every player like your own child. I never could do that until I actually went through it with my daughter. I think I truly cared about the players more after that. I always cared about them, but I especially cared about them because I want them to play well so we could be successful. After that, I cared more about their success, their future, their well-being. I wanted them to do well more for them than for me, because of Alison.”
...
Willis McGahee was drafted by the Bills, played on four teams and spent only 36 percent of his career with the Ravens. But when he retired last year, he did it as a member of the Ravens. At the news conference, he thanked Harbaugh for creating the best atmosphere he experienced in the NFL.

“I told him he made me into the person I am,” McGahee says. “He made me work harder, even after I left Baltimore. I appreciate everything he has done for me, the pushing and grinding me, even the bed check he did on me one time in San Diego. I appreciate all that. As I’ve gotten older, I realized it was all for the better.”
...
“The biggest thing with age is it becomes more about them, less about you,” he says. “Maybe you have to kind of prove yourself as a leader and coach, have some degree of success to get to that point. But once you break through that, you become a much more powerful leader.”

Some interesting stuff toward the beginning, about how he was much more of a prickly rigid hard-ass in his first couple seasons. Formed the players council in 2011, with Ray and Joe and Ed and some others on it (Sam Koch?). The suggestion is that was sort of the beginning of him learning to bend a little on the un-important things.

The piece focuses exclusively on "leadership" stuff. There's nothing in there about how Harbs has also evolved tactically over the same timespan. I think those two go hand-in-hand; the same drive toward greater flexibility has fueled both sides. But this piece is still interesting.

**Jam31** · 07-07-2020, 02:10 PM

thanks for sharing, Jim!

**Raveninwoodlawn** · 07-07-2020, 02:51 PM

Good stuff

**pslholder96** · 07-07-2020, 02:56 PM

I read this earlier. Definitely a good read. The evolution in his coaching style and personality has been fascinating. Let's hope he gets a few more rings.

**HanktheRIPPER** · 07-07-2020, 05:32 PM

It’s funny how he is still the underrated brother head coach. It seems like everyone is all over his brothers balls

**mmi16** · 07-07-2020, 05:56 PM

Originally Posted by HanktheRIPPER

It’s funny how he is still the underrated brother head coach. It seems like everyone is all over his brothers balls

Balls that have always been 'close but no cigar'. John didn't have the NFL QB career, so he never got the buzz that Jim got. Buzz doesn't necessarily generate results. Jim has been good but has never gotten to the top.

**BenSavich** · 07-07-2020, 08:15 PM

Originally Posted by pslholder96

I read this earlier. Definitely a good read. The evolution in his coaching style and personality has been fascinating. Let's hope he gets a few more rings.

Slow your roll there. I just want to see Harbs win another playoff game.

**Julius486** · 07-07-2020, 08:25 PM

AH, good. 6 posts in and we get a reference to the playoffs lol

**pslholder96** · 07-08-2020, 01:56 PM

Originally Posted by HanktheRIPPER

It’s funny how he is still the underrated brother head coach. It seems like everyone is all over his brothers balls

Think so? I don't feel that all now

**seraph** · 07-08-2020, 04:06 PM

He has authoritarian tendencies which you see from the start of his regime here. I remember hearing rumors about long time vets not getting along with him in his first year here. He even slightly suggested spying on players in the offseason before. From the outside looking in it seems he has been more player friendly than he was in his first few years here.