When the Cleveland Browns and Las Vegas Raiders interview head coaches in the coming weeks, they know the most important question they must answer: How will we identify and develop a young quarterback?
When the New York Giants and Tennessee Titans interview head coaches, they, too, know the crux: First-round quarterbacks Jaxson Dart and Cam Ward need molding and development. The quarterback hopeful for each club is in the house. But how will he grow?
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Shakeup at the top of the Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals will similarly require answers on a position with major question marks in 2026 and beyond.
These answers need not all come via offensive head coaches during a hiring cycle riper with defensive candidates than offensive. And in many successful franchises, including the reigning Super Bowl champions, the head coach’s primary responsibility is not to call offensive plays.
But when teams front young quarterbacks or face questions at quarterback, the pressure to find the offensive panacea sharpens. Coaching searches often skew accordingly.
So the Baltimore Ravens hold a clear advantage.
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Because as they announced Tuesday night that 18-year head coach John Harbaugh was “relieved of his duties,” the Ravens are the lone team currently looking for a head coach that is not simultaneously searching to clarify their answer at quarterback.
Recruiting coaches while two-time MVP Lamar Jackson is under contract is a luxury.
Sure, plenty will argue that just as the Ravens become the most attractive of seven NFL openings and counting, Harbaugh immediately became the most attractive candidate when he hit the market. That doesn’t mean the decision should be baffling. With a Super Bowl-winning coach and an MVP-winning quarterback, it should not be surprising if each believes he has the answers to future success. And if those answers don’t align, a time comes for a change.
But as the Ravens look for a coach who will end their 13-year Super Bowl drought, they won’t need as strong an emphasis on developing a quarterback.
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That could allow them, should they want, to select the best overall candidate first. Their ceiling will immediately be high.
“We have so much talent on this team, and it’s just disappointing that we’re not able to be the team that’s able to execute and win games when we need to win games,” fullback Patrick Ricard said this week. “As long as we have Lamar Jackson, I feel like this team can win a Super Bowl.”
Among 7 openings, Ravens’ Jackson offers best QB by far
A minority of coaches and executives across the league will argue that a coach in the Shanahan and McVay systems may prefer a more in-structure passer to build their offense around.
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But more often, as the surprise of Harbaugh’s dismissal hit Tuesday, league voices understood the new pecking order of openings.
“The jobs this cycle all lack QBs like normal so he’s definitely the top QB and offense available for any coach,” one NFC executive told Yahoo Sports.
An AFC assistant added of Jackson: “Any scheme fits him.”
Jackson has shown that in eight seasons since the Ravens selected him with the 32nd pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. He’s earned four Pro Bowl berths, three All-Pro honors and two MVP awards while winning 76 of 107 regular-season starts.
In aggregate, Jackson has completed 64.8% of his passes for 22,608 yards and 187 passing touchdowns to 56 interceptions. His 102.2 career passer rating and 8.25 air yards per attempt currently hold the all-time career records, per Pro Football Reference.
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And those numbers don’t even include Jackson’s additional 6,522 yards and 35 touchdowns rushing.
His health has been inconsistent at times, Jackson most recently missing four games and about half of another this season with hamstring and back injuries. But while healthy, he thrived. Consider his Week 18 return from a back injury in Pittsburgh with the AFC North title on the line. While the Ravens lost on a walk-off missed field-goal attempt Sunday night, Jackson completed 11 of 18 passes for 238 yards and three touchdowns.
He activated another level in the fourth quarter, with 50- and 64-yard go-ahead touchdown passes to receiver Zay Flowers. The first came despite two defenders seeming to have Jackson wrapped up. Jackson was unfazed.
“Shoot — I cut a nose guard loose, and he somehow slipped out of it and threw the ball [50] yards for a touchdown,” center Tyler Linderbaum said. “That’s the kind of ability he has. So, he’s fun to play for. [He’s an] ultra competitor, and any time that ball is snapped to him, and it’s in his hands, you know something electrifying can happen.”
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“The most electrifying player there is in this game.”
After Harbaugh’s final Ravens game, Jackson didn’t endorse him
As reports of tension between Jackson and Harbaugh built this season, Jackson was asked last Thursday if he had a good relationship with Harbaugh.
“Yes, I believe so,” he said. “I don’t know where the noise came from. I don’t know where the noise came from.”
After the Ravens’ 26-24 loss Sunday, Jackson was asked about Harbaugh again.
Did he want to see Harbaugh as his head coach next season?
“You’re asking me about next year,” Jackson said. “I’m so caught up in what just happened tonight. I can’t focus on that right now, I just told you. Like he asked me, ‘Are you stunned?’
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“I’m stunned right now, and I’m still trying to process what’s going on. I know we lost, but what the … you know?”
Sure, the emotions of the season’s sudden ending were fresh as Jackson’s Herculean fourth quarter wasn’t enough to advance to a sixth playoff berth in eight years. But Jackson was not the first player to receive a question about his coach’s future at season’s end. He would not have been the first to endorse a leader after a loss, especially one 18 years into his tenure with the organization with a Lombardi Trophy to his name and an AFC championship game berth in partnership with Jackson.
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Jackson did not choose that.
By Tuesday night, Harbaugh was out. The Ravens thanked Harbaugh for a “tremendous” 18 years and the Super Bowl title.
Harbaugh issued his own statement, curiously including a smiley-face emoji as he said goodbye with “disappointment certainly, but more with GRATITUDE & APPRECIATION.”
The Ravens’ coaching search, as team owner Steve Bisciotti said in a statement, begins. Their ability to move quickly on top defensive candidates including the Los Angeles Chargers’ Jesse Minter, Los Angeles Rams’ Chris Shula and Houston Texans’ Matt Burke could prove to be an asset.
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“That’s a dream backfield to have Lamar and Derrick [Henry] and to play with those guys,” Ricard said. “I feel like, as long as they’re here, this team has a shot — no matter who else is playing.”
