[Ravens Insider: Ten years ago (Jan. 18, 2008): Ravens hire John Harbaugh]

John Harbaugh was hired by the Ravens yesterday in a bold move that gives the longtime assistant coach his first head-coaching opportunity. The Ravens will introduce the 45-year-old Philadelphia Eagles secondary coach, who comes from a football family, during a news conference at noon today. Harbaugh,...

 

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[One Winning Drive: Ravens Hire Harbaugh]

According the their website, the Baltimore Ravens have hired John Harbaugh as their new head coach.

It will be interesting to get to hear Harbaugh speak. He was a relative unknown, at least to Baltimore fans, when the job search began. He served for nearly a decade with the Eagles as both a Special Teams Coordinator and a defensive backs coach. The Ravens’ webpage say he will bring a “youthful exuberance” to the club. Harbaugh is 45.

As a fan, two questions quickly come to mind: first, what becomes of Rex Ryan? Hopefully he lands a head coaching position elsewhere in the league, but if not, I’d hope to see Harbaugh offer him a spot with the Ravens. Second, how is a defensive and special teams coach going to reshape this offense and balance a roster of vets and young players? It’s fair to say he must have been mighty impressive in that interview room.

Prediction: we’re going to see a much larger roster overhaul than originally expected.

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[One Winning Drive: Pleasing the Masses]

“They say you can’t please all of the people all of the time… and last night, all of those people were at my show.” -Mitch Hedberg.

The Ravens are set on making the right decision and finding the right man to fill Brian Billick’s shoes. But as the search for a new coach continues, we’re finding out rather quickly that everyone in Baltimore has a different idea of what’s right for the team. (more…)

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[One Winning Drive: Seller’s Remorse?]

It’s been two weeks since the Ravens dismissed Brian Billick as Head Coach, an unexpected move that received rave reviews from most fans. But it is fair to say that all has not proceeded swimmingly since then, and while the off-season has hardly even begun, the pressure to settle the issue is mounting.

Perhaps “settle” is a poor choice of words at this point… (more…)

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[One Winning Drive: Cowboys Keep Garrett, But At What Cost?]

Jerry Jones has managed to retain offensive coordinator Jason Garrett for at least another five years, but how will such a contract extension and steep pay raise be felt not only throughout the rest of the league, but his own team? Current Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips was hired not even a year ago, signed to a three-year deal worth a reported $12 million. In short, Garrett is signed on to make $10 million in the next two years alone. Either Phillips is out after next season (or perhaps sooner if the Cowboys don’t win the Super Bowl), or Phillips is the most understanding coach in America.

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[One Winning Drive: Ravens Offer Open Position to Garrett]

Reports from The Baltimore Sun, ESPN and other national sources have been coming in since early this afternoon saying that the Ravens have asked Jason Garrett to fill their vacant head coaching position. Garrett, presently the Dallas Cowboys’ Offensive Coordinator, has completed several rounds of interviews with the Ravens since they fired Brian Billick the day after completing their 2007 schedule. The Ravens have yet to confirm these reports, which say Garrett is considering turning down the offer in favor of staying in Dallas.

Meanwhile, as the Ravens await a response from Garrett, their Defensive Coordinator and fan favorite Rex Ryan is rumored to be the front-runner for the head coaching position with the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons former coach, Bobby Petrino, left the team mid-season to return to the college ranks.

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