Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson revealed his thoughts on the surprise firing of longtime head coach John Harbaugh earlier this offseason.
“I have a lot of respect for coach. So just seeing that, I was shocked in a way, in a sense,” Jackson told reporters Wednesday. “But I felt like [Owner] Mr. Steve [Bisciotti] did what was best for the team.
“I hope coach Harbaugh has a great time in New York, man. Hats off to coach Harbaugh because he did so much for the city, for the team and for this organization. So, hats off to him in New York. We built a lot. We did a lot here.”
Harbaugh was surprisingly fired after Baltimore failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2021 and just the second since 2018.
The new Giants coach previously helped the Ravens win their second Super Bowl in franchise history.
Jackson has been the man under center for most of the team’s recent successes.
He earned MVP honors in the 2019 and 2023 seasons, and guided the team to the AFC Championship game two years ago.
The issue for Jackson and the Ravens was their postseason performance.
Even with all their talent on both offense and defense, the Ravens haven’t reached a Super Bowl since their trumph in Harbaugh’s fifth year with the team 13 years ago.
Now, for the first time in his entire career, Jackson will have a new coach in Jesse Minter, who was hired after being the Chargers defensive coordinator.
Harbaugh was quickly scooped up by the Giants after another losing season, becoming the first coach hired during the 2026 offseason.
The Giants then added former Ravens players Isiah Likely, Patrick Ricard, Jordan Stout and Ar’Darius Washington.
After the Giants’ strong 2026 draft and with a seasoned coach at the helm, there seems to be optimism that the Giants could make some noise in the NFC East this season.
Time will tell how Jackson and the Ravens fare in the post-Harbaugh era.