When the Baltimore Ravens fired their longtime head coach, John Harbaugh, two days after their season ended, it came as a shock to most. In the eyes of the media, the decision came out of nowhere, and many debated if it was the right move.
Finding a Hall of Fame-caliber coach isn’t easy. Harbaugh made the playoffs in 12 out of his 18 seasons and reached the mountain top with a Super Bowl win in 2012. However, after a disastrous 2025 campaign and countless times coming up short, it was simply time to move on. He’s clearly still a tremendous leader, and he proved that by immediately landing a new job with the New York Giants, but Baltimore needs a new voice in the building to get the most out of the Lamar Jackson era.
Criticism around the Ravens’ decision remained, but now, they’re not alone. After losing to the Denver Broncos in the Divisional Round on Saturday, the Buffalo Bills made the decision to fire their nine-year head coach, Sean McDermott.
The #Bills are moving on from coach Sean McDermott after their loss in the divisional round to the #Broncos, per The Insiders. pic.twitter.com/VhQGWwfa6s
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 19, 2026
Like the Ravens with Harbaugh, the Bills were a consistent threat under McDermott. However, also like the Ravens, the Bills came up short in the playoffs far too many times under McDermott. While criticism has followed this firing, as well, it’s clear that Baltimore and owner Steve Bisciotti set a precedent with their Harbaugh decision. When you have an MVP and Hall of Fame-caliber player at quarterback, you cannot keep waiting around for something to change. You have to be proactive, and the Buffalo followed suit by firing their head coach.
It’s fair to say that if the Ravens didn’t fire Harbaugh, McDermott likely wouldn’t have met the same fate.
Ravens' John Harbaugh firing validated after Bills' stunning move
The Ravens didn’t need any validation for their decision to move on from Harbaugh, but the Bills’ stunning move on Monday proves they were in the right mindset.
Just as Harbaugh was almost always in playoff contention, McDermott made the playoffs more often than not. In his nine-year tenure, he made it there eight times. However, in a similar fashion, he never capitalized on his golden chance with an MVP quarterback leading his team, failing to make a Super Bowl.
Sure, Jackson and Allen have both failed to hold up their end of the bargain at times in the playoffs, but Harbaugh and McDermott had too many moments where they were simply outcoached.
It’s clear that in the NFL, teams will prioritize their quarterbacks over their head coach. When you have MVPs under center, it is a once-in-a-lifetime era for your franchise. Top head coaches aren’t entirely easy to come by, either, but are more abundant than players like Jackson and Allen. Both quarterbacks are nearing 30, and with that in mind, a change in both cases was necessary.