On Tuesday, Jan. 6, the Baltimore Ravens fired head coach John Harbaugh, ending his 18-year streak with the franchise.
The move came just two days after the Baltimore Ravens fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road in a 26-24 defeat after dropping a game-ending field goal, which took the Ravens out of the playoffs for the first time since 2021. Harbaugh had signed a three-year contract with the Ravens during the 2025 offseason that was supposed to run through the 2028-29 season.
Following the firing, comments from Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson are surfacing. After the loss on Sunday, Jan. 4, Jackson spoke with reporters about his emotions.
When asked if he wanted to stay with the Ravens next season, Jackson was honest. “We just lost a game, a divisional game, a game to put us in the playoffs,” he said, according to the team’s official transcript. “I’m not even thinking about that right now, to be honest with you. I’m still caught up in what just happened. That’s not my focus right now.”
Jackson also described the loss as stunning. “Definitely. Definitely stunned,” Jackson said. “I thought we had it in the bag. I thought we had it in the bag. I don’t know what else we can do.”
Finally, when asked about if he wanted Harbaugh to return as head coach, his answer, or non-answer, was very telling. Jackson simply passed on the question.
“You’re asking me about next year,” he said. “I’m so caught up in what just happened tonight. I can’t focus on that right now, I just told you.”
He added, “Like he asked me, ‘Are you stunned?’ 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?”
In a statement about the loss, Baltimore owner Steve Bisciotti said the decision was “incredibly difficult.”
“Throughout what I firmly believe is a Hall of Fame coaching career, John has delivered a Super Bowl championship to Baltimore and served as a steadfast pillar of humility and leadership,” Bisciotti said in the statement. “He and his family have deeply embedded themselves in this community. For these profound contributions, on and off the field, we should all be forever grateful.”
He added, “Our goal has always been and will always be to win Championships. We strive to consistently perform at the highest level on the field and be a team and organization our fans take pride in. I will always be grateful for the extraordinary hard work and dedication displayed by John and his staff throughout the many successful years.”