Ravens Head Coach Opening Considered Best in NFL

The New York Giants have made the first move of the bunch in reportedly arriving inches away from a contract agreement with Harbaugh. As necessary as a fresh start would be for the former Raven, the G-Men can't approach anything remotely like Baltimore's offering of a franchise quarterback and a leadership group with the pedigree to steer the team back into championship talks.

Building Hype for the Job

All signs point to Harbaugh's replacement being a younger coordinator untainted by NFL head coaching experience elsewhere, a similar prospect to a younger Harbaugh with more of an offensive or defensive identity. And he won't be granted a ton of time to settle into a roster that could be ready to win immediately following a summer of re-tooling; Ravens coaches tend to stick around awhile, but they usually win almost immediately.

Bleacher Report sees the unparalleled upside of the post, even if it's far from perfect.

"Whoever takes this job is not only following the best coach in franchise history in John Harbaugh, but there is also no team on the list faces higher expectations to win immediately," Gary Davenport wrote. "Simply put, the Ravens believe themselves to be Super Bowl contenders, whether that's realistic or not.

"The Ravens roster has flaws as well. The offensive skill-position talent is wideout Zay Flowers, an aging Derrick Henry and Mark Andrews and not much else. The defense was dead-last in the AFC against the pass in 2025. And Jackson is coming off maybe his worst season as a pro. There's a reason why the Ravens missed the playoffs. And why Harbaugh was cut loose. However, the siren's song of a top-five quarterback in his prime has to be almost irresistible for every head coach candidate."

Lamar Jackson's appeal is the final sticking point in the Ravens' sell; an elite quarterback is usually good enough to buy any head coach a few extra years of job security, consistently churning out winning records while winning MVPs. His specific playstyle will require some creativity from the new staff, but that's where the front office can really evaluate how equipped a newcomer is for the hyper-specific job.

The Ravens know what they've got in their big-name job opening, evidenced in their extensive list of interviews that they've conducted and the amount of candidates they still plan on conversing with. They don't need to find new head coaches often, having only ever hired three over the course of their successful history, but they'll keep investing everything they've got into promising high-level football for the fans and whoever guides the team next.