Joe Starkey: John Harbaugh's firing casts a light on his chief rival -- Mike Tomlin

Joe Starkey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Jan 8, 2026

Published in Football

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PITTSBURGH — Amazing what one kick can do, isn’t it?

John Harbaugh would still be coaching the Baltimore Ravens if Tyler Loop had made that 44-yard field-goal attempt Sunday.

Instead, Loop’s miss kicked Harbaugh clear out of Baltimore — although it seems obvious that anything short of a lengthy playoff run would have ended Harbaugh’s 18-year run.

The Ravens clearly feel like they have plateaued under Harbaugh, which is interesting when compared to the Steelers and Mike Tomlin because Harbaugh has actually won playoff games lately.

In fact, Harbaugh has won a playoff game in each of the past two seasons — advancing to the AFC championship game in 2023 — and three of the past five. Tomlin hasn’t come close to winning one since the 2016 season. Harbaugh also has won two of the past three AFC North titles and four of the past eight.

It wasn’t enough. The Ravens have chosen risk over stability. They want something better for themselves. Owner Steve Bisciotti felt like more was required with a two-time MVP at quarterback. He believes Harbaugh had simply run his course in Baltimore. And I don’t think he’s wrong. Eighteen years is an eternity.

The Philadelphia Eagles moved on from Andy Reid after 14 years. The Seattle Seahawks moved on from Pete Carroll after 14 years. The Green Bay Packers broke up with Mike McCarthy after nearly 13 years. The New England Patriots parted ways with Bill Belichick after 24 years. In all cases, both parties survived. Many thrived (not Belichick).

NFL Network’s Kyle Brandt perfectly summed up the Harbaugh situation, comparing it to an amicable divorce.

“Sometimes it’s just time to go,” Brandt said. “That person is a wonderful person and they’ll go on to be a great [person] for someone else. That doesn’t mean they’re right for you anymore.”

All of which raises an obvious question regarding Tomlin: If the Ravens plateaued in never making it back to a Super Bowl after all these years, have the Steelers plateaued in never winning playoff games anymore?

That will become a non-issue if they dispatch the Houston Texans on Monday night. Maybe the Steelers are the smart ones here. But another loss will make for seven straight playoff losses under Tomlin, extend his playoff drought to a whopping nine years and drop his career playoff record to 8-12.

That seems like a pattern. But we all know that unless Tomlin makes the call, he isn’t going anywhere no matter the result Monday — and the same would have been true if Loop’s kick had split the uprights.

Harbaugh’s departure — here’s betting he winds up with the New York Giants — leaves Tomlin as the NFL’s longest-tenured coach. And maybe, just maybe, he has recaptured his mojo. It feels like the Steelers have something brewing and could make a run.

But what if they don’t? What if their season ends at 10-8 for the third straight year with another playoff thud? That would make their past five years look like this:

— 10-8

— 9-8

— 9-7-1

Is that good enough?

That’s an honest question, and maybe for the New York Jets it would be. It shouldn't be here. Harbaugh went 33-18 over the past three years with two playoff wins, but it felt like the Ravens underachieved.

Having said that, Harbaugh deserves a tip of the cap on his way out. What a great rivalry it has been over the 40 games between him and Tomlin.

Tomlin has mostly owned it lately, even if the Ravens have had better seasons. The only two coaches who faced each other more often than these two were Curly Lambeau and George Halas.

Like Tomlin, Harbaugh is one of the good guys. I remember interviewing him at Ravens training camp in 2008, shortly after he was hired, and asking about his one-year tenure as a graduate assistant coach at Pitt in 1987 under Mike Gottfried.

Besides coaching the tight ends with the help of Pro Football Hall of Famer Sid Gillman, Harbaugh was asked to deliver Pitt's media guide to every high school in Western Pennsylvania.

"I had a Datsun 210, I think it was, persimmon orange, all rusted out, about 15 years old with a clutch, going up and down those hills in Western Pa. in my coat and tie," Harbaugh recalled. "You just can't find your way around. I mean, I can see it — I can see the school right there on that hill, and I have no idea how to get to it.”

Nearly 40 years later, Harbaugh has fashioned a Hall of Fame career of his own — and it will have to continue elsewhere.

His time in Baltimore has run its course, and that’s OK.

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