Ben Roethlisberger just gave Giants fans another reason to love the John Harbaugh hire

John Harbaugh’s Baltimore Ravens and Ben Roethlisberger’s Pittsburgh Steelers gave us 15 years of thrilling — and oftentimes heated — primetime games. 

But for the first time since 2003, neither is in the AFC North. Roethlisberger retired five years ago, and Harbaugh moved to the New York Giants this past offseason. 

Speaking candidly on his podcast this week, Roethlisberger said the Ravens are “falling apart.” The two-time Super Bowl champion cited Harbaugh’s departure, along with Derrick Henry’s age and Lamar Jackson’s injury-plagued 2025 season. 

“These [Ravens] feel different,” Roethlisberger said. “They feel like their window closed.”

Ben Roethlisberger just unintentionally gave Giants fans added hope

For the sake of conversation, let’s say that John Harbaugh hadn’t left the 49ers after the 2014 season to become Michigan’s head coach. 

How much differently would we look at the younger Harbaugh? The 49ers were dreadful over the next four years, cycling through three coaches and numerous quarterbacks before settling on Kyle Shanahan and Jimmy Garoppolo. 

Instead, Harbaugh went to Michigan and immediately won in Ann Arbor. He spent years as a top NFL coaching candidate before taking over the Chargers two years ago. 

By doing what ex-players do best and insulting his former rivals, Roethlisberger reminded Giants fans of a key lesson: Oftentimes, it’s better to end something sooner rather than stick it out. 

Look how quickly Bill Belichick’s legacy changed by the time he stepped down as the Patriots’ coach. All it took was three losing seasons in four years, all of which came without Tom Brady. 

Would we collectively rave about the Giants’ John Harbaugh hire if it came following multiple down seasons in Baltimore? The Ravens narrowly missed the playoffs last year, a far better outcome than hiring Harbaugh after, say, a 20-31 stretch over three years. 

Narratives change as quickly as Cleveland Browns quarterbacks. How many times have we seen a coordinator who looked overmatched as a head coach get another chance because of how successful they were upon becoming an assistant again?

We just saw it this offseason with the Titans and Robert Saleh. Josh McDaniels got the opportunity twice, albeit he infamously reversed course on the Colts’ job in 2018. 

Granted, neither Harbaugh became a position coach or coordinator again after leaving their respective NFL job. The point, though, is that they got out — in John’s case, he was fired — before things spiraled out of control. 

It’s better to be lucky than good, and the Giants stand to benefit from the Ravens opting to hit the reset button.

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