New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh says that he is extremely proud of the job that his Baltimore Ravens staff did last season, despite the team’s 8-9 finish.
In a recent interview on “Pardon My Take,” Harbaugh reflected on his final year with the Ravens, which featured a rash of injuries and only the club’s second losing season since 2016. All-Pro quarterback Lamar Jackson missed four games with back and thigh problems, and standout defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike suffered a season-ending neck injury in Week 2.
Although the Ravens missed the postseason for the second time in five years, Harbaugh made it clear that he remains proud of how his staff handled the adversity.
“I thought, honestly, as a coaching staff, it might have been our best job this year coaching this team,” Harbaugh said. “I thought we did a great job. But it wasn’t good enough in terms of getting us where we needed to get … for whatever reason.”
Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti fired Harbaugh on Jan. 6, only days after the Ravens missed the playoffs on a missed 44-yard field goal against the rival Steelers. Harbaugh had coached the Ravens since 2008 and is the winningest coach in team history.
Giants fans should be excited by John Harbaugh’s comments about his staff
Considering that 14 of the Giants’ new assistant coaches previously worked for Harbaugh in Baltimore, his praise for last year’s Ravens staff should be exactly what the New York fanbase wants to hear. Defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson, assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Chris Horton, and senior offensive assistant Greg Roman headline the notable names who either followed Harbaugh or reunited with him in New York.
Defensive line coach Dennis Johnson and running backs coach Willie Taggart held the same positions in Baltimore last year, as did longtime Ravens strength and conditioning coach Ron Shrift.
Harbaugh has also publicly praised Megan Rosburg, a defensive assistant and assistant to the head coach. He even called her the Giants’ “most valuable coach” earlier this offseason.
Although offensive coordinator Matt Nagy has not worked with Harbaugh, both come from the Andy Reid coaching tree. Nagy, who spent four years as the Bears’ head coach from 2018-21, won two Super Bowl titles as the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator.
Harbaugh can only hope that the staff’s familiarity pays dividends for a Giants team with just one winning season since 2017. The Giants are only 13-38 in the last three years, and questions are already mounting about sophomore quarterback Jaxson Dart’s future after a series of concussions and hard hits in his rookie campaign.