Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens: John Harbaugh Did Not Run Leaders Out Of Town

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:37 p.m. ET

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Sep 7, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh walks down the sidelines during the first quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

John Harbaugh did not run leaders out of town. Many fans think he did, but that argument doesn’t check out:

John Harbaugh didn’t seem to mind when the Ravens brought in Steve Smith Sr. or Eric Weddle. These are two of the strongest leaders in the game. There seems to be the perception that Harbaugh needs to be the strongest voice in the locker room. There is evidence that this isn’t true. People are confusing the exit of fan favorite players with an exodus led by the head coach.

Ray Lewis and Matt Birk retired. Ed Reed wanted more money than the Ravens felt comfortable with. Reed is the greatest of all time, but he was an aging veteran on his last legs. Harbaugh had nothing to do with their departure from the team.

Anquan Boldin was traded by Ozzie Newsome to the San Francisco 49ers. Harbaugh did not run Boldin out of town; it’s hard to imagine a coach thrilled about losing his quarterback’s favorite weapon. Without the Boldin trade, Elvis Dumervil would have never come to Baltimore. While Boldin was productive so was Dumervil had a 17 sack season in 2014. It was a business decision made by Ozzie Newsome. It may have been a mistake, but it was Newsome’s decision.

Bernard Pollard hit really hard, and because of that he won the allegiance of the fans. Pollard had four short stints with four different teams. He signed with the Tennessee Titans in 2013, after 2014 he was done. Pollard was not really a leader. He had an attitude problem and Harbaugh wasn’t having it. You can blame Harbaugh for that one, but his willingness to see Pollard play elsewhere seems justified.

Nov 6, 2016; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh (left) high fives fans after beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-14 at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

Harbaugh Shows Strength Not Cowardice

The emotion elicited when fan favorites leave town clouds this issue. The reality is, Harbaugh has always kept the locker room together and empowered his players. There is much to criticize Harbaugh for, but this just is not one of them. Harbaugh shows strength, not cowardice. Suggesting that he didn’t want another alpha male is silly. Jim Caldwell, Gary Kubiak and Steve Spagnuolo have all been assistant coaches for Harbaugh. You can tell me the man that had three former head coaches work under him, wants to be the only strong voice in the room, but I won’t believe you.

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Keeping Marty Mornhinweg on board was a bold decision. It reeks of a mistake but you have to admire the gutsy nature of Harbaugh. The fans wanted Mornhinweg to go, but Harbaugh kept him on board. The Ravens have not made the playoffs in three of the past four years and Harbaugh had the resolve to make an unpopular decision.

Joe Flacco supported Mornhinweg and that played a large role in the decision. If Harbaugh wants to be the lone alpha male, why does he care what Flacco has to say at all? Running strong voices out of town would be the act of a weak leader. Harbaugh keeping Mornhinweg was a bold decision, which is evidence of a strong leader.

The Bottom Line:

Harbaugh is not a weak leader. Harbaugh is not afraid of having other leaders around him. He has always leaned on leaders. He let Ray Lewis wield an awful lot of influence over the team. It was not his fault that the great player retired.

Ed Reed should have retired after the Super Bowl, instead of playing for two different teams the next season. It’s not Harbaugh’s fault that Reed took a better deal in Houston. I know Jim Harbaugh was the coach of the 49ers, but Boldin wasn’t traded by John Harbaugh. We must stop blaming Harbaugh for not keeping the Super Bowl team together. It’s hard to keep the band together in the salary cap era and Harbaugh is not the general manager.

There are many reasons to criticize Harbaugh. If you want to harp on his clock management or his inability to fix problems in a game, that’s fair. If you want to criticize Harbaugh for getting rid of leaders, that isn’t. I’m tired of the argument that the Ravens’ coach has to be the only alpha male.