Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti made a choice last week he likely once believed he might never need to consider when he fired longtime coach John Harbaugh.
Bisciotti remains convicted in his decision -- one he'd contemplated for weeks -- but does have one regret: If he were to do it again, he wouldn't have informed Harbaugh over the phone.
"It was the craziest firing in the world," Bisciotti said Tuesday, apologizing for relieving Harbaugh of his duties via a phone call, via ESPN. "I was the one choked up and he was the one consoling me."
Harbaugh's firing seemed to come as a result of Baltimore's finish to the 2025 season, a 26-24 loss in which rookie kicker Tyler Loop missed what would have been the game-winning -- and AFC North title-securing -- field goal on the final play of the thrilling contest in Pittsburgh. However, as Bisciotti explained it, that game's outcome only affected the timing of Harbaugh's dismissal. Had Loop made the field goal and sent Baltimore to the playoffs, it only would have kept Harbaugh employed "for a week," Bisciotti said.
"I got to the point that I didn't believe that I would feel regret after I made that decision," Bisciotti said. "And that's what instinct is when you finally get to the point that you're pretty damn sure that you are not going to regret the decision a day or a week later, then that's the time to make the decision."
Bisciotti made the decision with a sense of certainty that was informed by watching his team repeatedly crumble in the fourth quarter, producing the most collapses in which they led by 10-plus points (14) in the NFL over the last six seasons. There's also Baltimore's consistent regular-season success and equally predictable postseason disappointments; despite winning 126 regular season games from 2013-2025 (all under Harbaugh), the Ravens haven't won multiple games in a single postseason in that span. Harbaugh began his long-lasting Baltimore run with a 9-4 postseason record in his first five seasons, including a win in Super Bowl XLVII. He then went 4-7 in the playoffs in his remaining 13 seasons.
With the Ravens declining annually -- they went from an AFC Championship Game appearance in 2023 to a Divisional Round loss in 2024 and missed the playoffs in 2025 -- Bisciotti felt he had no choice but to find a new leader.
"I just hope you respect me enough to know that 100 percent my instincts told me this was the time," Bisciotti said. "And I may be right, I may be wrong, but I did it because I'm in charge of doing it."
As it has begun to spin, the 2026 coaching carousel has become wildly fascinating. During Bisciotti's press conference, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin officially stepped down, removing the two longest-tenured coaches in the NFL in a week's time.
Naturally, Bisciotti was asked about Tomlin and whether the longtime foe might be a fit for the Ravens' new vacancy.
"Holy s---, wouldn't that be awesome? Only if John (Harbaugh) takes the Pittsburgh job," Bisciotti said. "Wow. Wouldn't that be interesting? I don't know, that thing last week maybe disqualified him from [the Ravens' open head coaching job] after our kicker missed a kick that let them advance. Good for Mike.
"Yeah, I don't know. Talk to him. I love Mike. I mean I've admired Mike for 18 years and that's really shocking that he did it that way, but yeah, that's kind of crazy. Didn't know that. I'll leave that to [Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta]."
Baltimore's coaching search is already well underway and included an interview with another familiar face from the AFC North, recently fired Browns coach Kevin Stefanski. Harbaugh, meanwhile, is atop the list of most desired candidates and is expected to meet with three teams by the end of this week (Giants, Titans and Falcons) in what is quickly becoming a coaching sweepstakes, per NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero.
The Ravens understand why Harbaugh is such a desired commodity in 2026. They also understand that nothing in this life is permanent -- not even a Super Bowl-winning coach.
"It was a wonderful, wonderful marriage," Bisciotti said of their time with Harbaugh. "We accomplished great things. The next coach we get, I want him to be a Super Bowl-winning coach, too."
