John Harbaugh was bound to be a candidate of interest for every single team with an opening. Over 18 years in Baltimore, Harbaugh went 180-113 with a 13-11 postseason record, including a Super Bowl win
back in 2012. He only had three seasons of under-.500 ball in that span, presided over some truly great teams in the early part of the 2010s in particular, and came to represent one of the better coaches in the CEO archetype over that span. Baltimore’s firing of such a distinguished coach was a surprise, and naturally, teams like the Falcons and Giants are scrambling to interview him.
The Falcons have completed their interview, as the team announced on Monday.
Despite his success, Harbaugh will be one of the more divisive candidates the Falcons interview. Proponents will note the success, the ability to repeatedly hire quality coordinators as the team’s coaching staff was inevitably pillaged, and the ability to lead that allowed him to hold a job for 18 years with one of the league’s better franchises. Detractors will note that his postseason success has been limited for years now despite the presence of Lamar Jackson and considerable talent on both sides of the ball, the way the defense has deteriorated over the past couple of seasons, his age (63) and reported desire for control (considerable), and the fact that Baltimore was willing to let him go after just one down season in the past four years while holding on to their general manager.
Atlanta’s interest in Harbaugh is logical enough. They’re seeking either a bright offensive mind or a proven winner, and few have won more over the past two decades than Harbaugh, even if the lone Super Bowl might give you some pause. If Harbaugh is looking for say-so over the next general manager, that might be easier in Atlanta, where Matt Ryan is sitting atop the organization and the GM could be more of a figurehead with two powerful voices in the building. And there’s little doubt that Todd Monken, should he follow Harbaugh to Atlanta, would be an intriguing hire for this offense; I’m less certain of what Harbaugh would do on the defensive side of the ball. This would be the team’s pursuit of Bill Belichick in 2024 with less obvious downside risk and less obvious upside, in many ways, as the team would bring aboard a respected, longtime coach with a history of winning who suffered through recent struggles.
Harbaugh still feels like a better candidate for the Giants, who have been dysfunctional and badly need stability, than a Falcons team that has a quality defensive coordinator sitting on staff and very obviously needs a lift on offense. But Harbaugh also offers a level of competence, even-keeled leadership, and experience that has to be appealing for an organization that hasn’t had much of that over the past eight seasons. He’ll still interview with New York, so we’ll see if Atlanta ends up being his home in the end of not.
