John Harbaugh, Ravens nearing extension

Harbaugh signed his current deal in January 2019, shortly after the Ravens completed their Joe Flacco-to-Lamar Jackson transition. The former Super Bowl-winning HC had interestingly spent time on the hot seat shortly before his latest extension, but Jackson helping the team back to the playoffs in 2018 nixed those plans. No talk of a Harbaugh firing came up during the course of his current contract, either.

A new Harbaugh deal should be finalized within the next few weeks, Hensley adds. Although the 59-year-old coach oversaw a rare plummet from an 8-3 record to a playoff absence this season, injuries contributed heavily to that descent. The Ravens have made the playoffs in nine of Harbaugh’s 14 seasons, during which the elder Harbaugh brother is 137-88. With Sean Payton stepping away from his 16-year post earlier Tuesday, Harbaugh is now the NFL’s third-longest-tenured HC — behind Bill Belichick and Mike Tomlin.

Baltimore’s only two losing seasons under Harbaugh came when his starting quarterback missed significant time. Before Jackson missed games to close out this season, Flacco suffered a torn ACL during the 2015 campaign. This will be Harbaugh’s sixth Ravens contract. After the team locks down its head coach, Jackson’s contract will re-emerge at the forefront of their offseason plans. However, the sides still have work to do going into the former MVP’s fifth-year option season.