John Harbaugh is returning as the Baltimore Ravens head coach in 2019. Here are three factors that could have played into that decision:
1. The Lamar Jackson era got off to a 5-1 start:
John Harbaugh is already winning with the quarterback of the future in Baltimore. The Ravens have gotten off to a 5-1 start of the Lamar Jackson era. John Harbaugh could have went back to Joe Flacco after the Atlanta Falcons game. He chose to go into Arrowhead Stadium to battle the high flying Kansas City Chiefs with Lamar Jackson. Not only is Harbaugh working well with Jackson, he is eagerly doing it. Does anybody think it was easy to take the starting quarterback job away from Joe Flacco?
Flacco has been here Harbaugh’s entire tenure as head coach. The idea that Harbaugh chose Jackson to be the starting quarterback shows that he is willing to change and adapt. The Ravens offense doesn’t look anything like it did when Flacco was running it. Harbaugh saw that his team was beginning to roll. He saw the momentum that the team had found. He steered right into that momentum.
When the Ravens drafted Lamar Jackson, it was to eventually replace Joe Flacco. The organization is all in with Jackson. The head coach of the 2019 Baltimore Ravens had one major requirement, right out of the gates: He had to be able to win with Jackson as the guy. The Ravens have built an offense that works for Jackson. Jackson has a lot of work to do as a passer, but if he goes into the offseason with the same coaching staff, he will be much more polished next season. The 5-1 start proved that the Lamar Jackson era doesn’t have to exclude Harbaugh.