Dec 17, 2023; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh reacts after the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images

Jaguars Officially Dodge the Harbaugh Bullet

Originally posted on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI
By John Shipley | Last updated Jan 17, 2026 4:04 PM ET

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars will face John Harbaugh in 2026. It will just happen while he is represneting a team that isn't their AFC South rival.

The Tennessee Titans seemed primed to make a run at the long-time Baltimore Ravens John Harbaugh, even having a meeting set up with him at his home. But the New York Giants zeroed in on Harbaugh before the meeting ever took place, and on Saturday, he officially kept himself out of the AFC South by taking the job.

Harbaugh to New York

The Titans have a number of other candidates who seem set to become finalists in Nashville, including Kevin Stefanski, Matt Nagy, and Jeff Hafley. With Hafley looking like the frontrunner for the Miami Dolphins job, then Harbaugh's decision to not enter the fray of the AFC South looms large.

The Jaguars have not lost to the Titans since the 2023 regular-season finale. The swan song for Mike Vrabel, Derrick Henry and Ryan Tannehill as Titans ended up knocking the Jaguars out of the playoffs in Nashville and signaled the beginning of the end for the Doug Pederson/Trent Baalke era.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Harbaugh entering the AFC South would have made the division the AFC version of the NFC West, which has three star head coaches in Sean McVay, Mike Macdonald, and Kyle Shannahan. The AFC South has two Coach of the Year-level coaches in Liam Coen and DeMeco Ryans, ad Harbaugh would have made the Titans quite the formidable foe.

The Titans can still make a solid hire, of course. The first team to hire a coach is not always the best off, while it says a lot about the Titans that a selective Harbaugh was willing to take a meeting with them. While the Jaguars dominated the Titans during the debacle that was the Brian Callahan era, there are a lot of reasons to think the Titans could turn it around quickly and become a thorn in the Jaguars' side.

Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

But for now, the Jaguars will completely avoid the idea of one of the NFL's best coaches joining the AFC South. The Titans still have some impressive candidates to ponder and a key decision to make, but the Jaguars can rest assured knowing that it is a two-team race between the and the Texans entering the 2026 offseason.

Whoever the Titans hire will impact the Jaguars at least twice a year. Now, we know who it won't be.

This article first appeared on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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