It's Time to Admit John Harbaugh is Not a Good Postseason Coach

What I am about to say, I do so with a heavy heart. I take no joy in the discussion we are about to have. I just feel it is necessary to have a frank, open and honest dialogue about this grave matter. 

John Harbaugh is not a good coach when it comes to the postseason. And he hasn't been for a long, long time. 

This is that conversation you have when a loved one is in decline. When someone once commanded respect has lost their faculties. When they can no longer perform the simple functions that they used to master. That's Harbaugh in January. 

I know how this sounds. And I know what your first reaction will be. You're in the Denial Stage of the Kubler Ross model, and will remind me he's won a Super Bowl. And that championship run included four wins, not the least of which was a blowout in the AFC championship game at New England in which he coached circles around Bill Belichick. 

Fair enough. That is all a part of Harbaugh's permanent record. On his watch during that run, Joe Flacco played flawless football, his team took near perfect care of the ball, and all that is on his permanent record. 

That was also 12 seasons ago. A lifetime in the harsh reality of NFL head coaches. And before we go any further, let me go back 13 years, to that other AFC title game he coached at Gillette. The one where Billy Cundiff Ray Finkled a potential game tying 32 yard field goal, causing every Patriots fan to look around checking themselves for bullet wounds like Jules and Vincent in Marvin's apartment when the other guy's all missed them:

The reason for Cundiff's miss was that he was 40 yards up the sideline warming up, and had to race onto the field. Harbaugh later complained about the scoreboard reading "3rd down" and suggested (stop me if this sounds familiar) the Patriots had cheated. Which ignores several key points:

--The NFL controls the scoreboard, not the home team.

--There was a league employee standing right in front of him holding a big stick with a bright orange "4" that is clearly visible from the back row of the upper deck.

--Keeping track of the downs requires the math skills of a preschooler watching a vampire puppet count.

--Note the yellow dot above Baltimore's score. That indicates the time out he still had but inexplicably took with him into the offseason.

All these added up equal one indisputable fact: The moment was too big for Harbaugh. Very much like the one at Gillette three years later when his team blew not one but two 14-point leads. Thanks to coaching schemes he wasn't ready for and could not adjust two. A double pass:

And an eligible receiver formation that the Ravens could not figure out, even as the official pointed to Shane Vereen and literally told them, "Don't guard 34." Which they promptly proceeded to do, leaving Michael Hoomanawanui undefended for big gains. 

Here's a callback to that 2011 conference championship game. Harbaugh's response to these perfectly legal tactics was to throw a fit, walk onto the middle of the field, take a 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalty, complain after the game, and contact the league and the Colts to start investigating the air pressure in the Patriots footballs. He then spent the offseason getting the league to outlaw the formation. 

That was 10 years ago. Since that night:

--Harbaugh's postseason record is 3-7.

--He's been one & done in the playoffs three more times.

--He's made it to one conference title game, despite 4 seasons in the Top 10 in points, 5 seasons in the Top 10 in yards, 8 seasons in the Top 10 in points allowed, and 7 in the Top 10 in yards allowed. 

--He's had the No. 1 seed in the AFC twice, and is 1-2 in those playoffs.

Last night was more of the same. Harbaugh's team has the presumptive NFL MVP, lead the league with nine Pro Bowlers, had the No. 1 offense, a defense that has lead the league since midseason, a kicker considered by some (not me) to be the GOAT, and a first ballot Hall of Fame running back who ran roughshod over Pittsburgh the week before. 

Yet again, the moment was too much for him. Despite having a 5.3 yards per attempt average, Derrick Henry had just 16 of Baltimore's 30 carries. Say what you will about Mark Andrews' drop on the goal line, history should put that playcall right alongside Pete Carroll's decision to throw the ball on the goal line instead of hand it to a nearly untackleable short-yardage running back. Not to mention the utter abandonment of the RPO game, which is borderline criminal:

Again, as I say this, I am saddened, not gladdened. This is not just the complaints of a Patriots fan, still bitter about the Deflategate nonsense that John Harbaugh gave birth to. If anything, I want the Ravens to keep employing a head coach with a now long and undistinguished track record of postseason failure. Because facing Baltimore in the postseason once again is exactly where I believe my team is headed. Hopefully this season thanks to a Commanders-like turnaround. But if not, then the season after that. And as long as the Ravens keep him right where he belongs, bungling high leverage moments in the playoffs and watching his franchise's December dreams blow away like a cold breath in the January air, I'm good with that.