Harbaugh chose coaching over unsafe career in politics

NEW ORLEANS — Head coach John Harbaugh is leading the Ravens to their first Super Bowl appearance in 12 years, but he once had visions of a different type of leadership in terms of his career choice.
Jack Harbaugh revealed in a conference call last week that his oldest son considered a career in the political realm before deciding to go into coaching upon graduating from Miami University of Ohio.
Needless to say, it appears Harbaugh made the right choice, but the Baltimore coach appears willing to debate President Barack Obama over his recent comments expressing his concerns about football and how he’d consider forbidding his children from playing the sport.
“I was thinking of something really clever to say, you know, like President Obama mentioned about not letting his kids get into football,” said Harbaugh as he laughed. “Our dad wouldn’t let us get into politics. You know, maybe that’s what it was. I wanted to do that, but Dad said, ‘No, it’s not safe.’ Which it probably isn’t, but football has been good.”
Asked about Obama’s comments upon arriving in New Orleans on Monday, Harbaugh shared the virtues of the game and the value it can create for a young person.
Several of Harbaugh’s players, including safety Ed Reed and linebacker Terrell Suggs, agreed with Obama’s concerns over football’s violent nature.
“Football is a great game. Anybody that’s played the game knows what a great game it is,” Harbaugh said in reply to Obama’s comments. “What it provides for young people, what it provides for people like me is an opportunity to grow as a person. It’s challenging, it’s tough, it’s hard. There’s no game like football. It’s the type of sport that brings out the best in you, it kind of shows you who you are.