Did Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh play in the NFL, or are his pro-football achievements strictly limited to coaching? Let’s examine his playing days and how far he got before he traded his helmet for a headset.
Examining John Harbaugh’s Football Career
Harbaugh did play football at a high level, but he never made it to the NFL.
After playing high school football at Pioneer High School in Michigan, John received a partial scholarship to Miami (OH), where he played defensive back. While at Miami (OH), Jim earned a degree in political science and won the Football Scholar-Athlete Award.
When Harbaugh’s collegiate career came to an end, he couldn’t make the leap to the NFL. Instead, he made the transition to coaching.
This is similar to the path that his father, Jack, took. Jack played college football at Bowling Green, lettering three times as a defensive back and quarterback. In 1961, the Buffalo Bills drafted Jack in the 25th round of the AFL Draft. However, as Jack described it: “I lasted about three days before getting cut. I came back home and had no prospects.” This is when he decided to pursue a coaching career.
John got his first coaching job on his father’s staff at Western Michigan, serving as the team’s running backs coach and outside linebackers coach. After assistant-coaching stints at Pittsburgh, Morehead State, Cincinnati, and Indiana, John got his first NFL coaching gig as the special teams coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles. He was with the Eagles from 1998 to 2007, and he was eventually promoted to the team’s defensive backs coach.
In 2008, the Ravens hired Harbaugh as their head coach, and he’s been there ever since — leading them to victory in Super Bowl XLVII and winning the AP NFL Coach of the Year award in 2019. He’s widely regarded as one of the best coaches in the NFL, and he holds the record for most road playoff wins in league history with eight.
While John never played in the NFL, his younger brother, Jim, did. While Jim is now known as the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, he was also a first-round pick in the 1987 NFL Draft who played 14 seasons in the NFL. Jim became a Pro Bowler, won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award, and is in the Indianapolis Colts’ Ring of Honor.
While John didn’t match his brother’s success on the gridiron, he has always been super supportive of Jim and raved about his talent.
“Jim was one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the history of the National Football League,” John said. “And I’ve said this many times.”