On Tuesday afternoon, Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti fired John Harbaugh. Luke Jones and Nestor gathered immediately to react to a surreal afternoon in Owings Mills.
Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discuss the unexpected departure of John Harbaugh from the Baltimore Ravens. They reflect on Harbaugh’s 18-year tenure, his contributions, and the surreal nature of his exit. They speculate on potential reasons for the change, including tensions with offensive coordinator Todd Monken and the team’s recent performance. Steve Bisciotti’s statement emphasizes the difficult decision to part ways with Harbaugh, highlighting his achievements and contributions. The conversation also touches on the potential impact on the team’s culture and future coaching decisions.
- [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Seek and gather additional opinions and reactions from sources and contacts about John Harbaugh’s departure for follow-up coverage.
- [ ] Read Steve Bisciotti’s statement on air for immediate reporting and live reaction (as mentioned during the broadcast).
- [ ] Be on site in Owings Mills to cover Steve Bisciotti, Eric DeCosta, or team press availability and report back for Baltimore Positive coverage.
John Harbaugh’s Departure Announced
- Nestor Aparicio introduces the emergency bulletin piece, mentioning the departure of John Harbaugh and the Ravens.
- Nestor compares the situation to Charlie Eckman’s departure from the Detroit Pistons.
- Luke Jones breaks the news that Adam Schefter reported the change in the department.
- Nestor reflects on the surreal nature of the situation and the impact on the Ravens’ future.
Reflections on Previous Coaching Changes
- Nestor recalls the departure of Brian Billick and the surreal feeling it brought.
- Luke Jones shares his memory of Brian Billick’s departure in 2007.
- Nestor and Luke discuss the significance of the Ravens hiring their fourth head coach in 31 years.
- Nestor mentions writing a Dear Steve Bisciotti letter and the unexpected nature of the news.
Speculations and Reactions
- Nestor and Luke discuss the potential impact on Todd Monken and other coaches.
- Nestor reflects on the surreal nature of the situation and the lack of preparation for the news.
- Luke Jones mentions the surreal feeling of the news and the reactions from his contacts.
- Nestor speculates on John Harbaugh’s future and the potential power struggle with Lamar Jackson.
Potential Candidates and Future Coaching Dynamics
- Nestor and Luke discuss potential candidates for the head coaching position.
- Nestor speculates on the role of Eric DeCosta and Steve Bisciotti in the hiring process.
- Luke Jones reflects on the surreal feeling of covering a new coach after John Harbaugh.
- Nestor and Luke discuss the potential impact on the Ravens’ culture and future coaching dynamics.
Steve Bisciotti’s Statement and John Harbaugh’s Response
- Luke Jones reads Steve Bisciotti’s statement announcing John Harbaugh’s departure.
- Nestor and Luke discuss the implications of Bisciotti’s statement and the decision-making process.
- Luke Jones reads John Harbaugh’s statement, reflecting on his gratitude and appreciation.
- Nestor and Luke discuss the significance of Harbaugh’s statement and its impact on the Ravens’ community.
Legacy and Future of the Ravens
- Nestor and Luke reflect on John Harbaugh’s legacy and his contributions to the Ravens.
- Luke Jones emphasizes the importance of acknowledging Harbaugh’s achievements.
- Nestor and Luke discuss the potential future directions for the Ravens under new leadership.
- Nestor and Luke conclude with their thoughts on the surreal nature of the situation and the impact on the Ravens’ community.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
John Harbaugh, Ravens firing, Steve Bisciotti, coaching change, Lamar Jackson, Todd Monken, Eric DeCosta, Super Bowl, coaching legacy, team culture, future plans, fan reaction, coaching search, Baltimore sports, NFL coaching.
SPEAKERS
8
Luke Jones, Nestor Aparicio
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
Welcome home. We are W n s t am 1570 to Baltimore. We are Baltimore positive. No crab cake tours today with the Maryland lottery and GBMC, this is a emergency bulletin piece. Luke and I are putting this together in the moments after we reported. Brought to you by Cole roofing and Gordian energy, if you’re on our W NSD tech service that John Harbaugh and the Ravens have departed, I’m not going to call it a firing because I sort of know better, a parting of the ways change in the department. Or Charlie Eckman once said when he got fired by the Detroit Pistons, or the then Fort Wayne Pistons, the zolner pistons. He said, Charlie, I’m gonna make a change in your department. And Charlie said, I looked around and I realized that was the only one in my department. Luke Jones is here. He broke the news that Adam Schefter threw out by putting our wnst tech service together on Tuesday evening. And Luke, I feel like I’m a veteran and all of this, but I’m not a veteran at coaching changes for the ravens, although I was pretty close to the Billick thing when it happened, I had been on the phone with Brian that day. Brian was not in any way thinking he was getting fired that day. I don’t know that John Harbaugh didn’t know that at the podium with you on Sunday night. Or think this could be the end, or maybe he wants it to be the end. The story will come out in the aftermath, but it’s also fresh that there’s going to be a new head coach in Baltimore. Surreal.
Luke Jones 01:27
I mean, that’s the word I that comes to mind for me when you get worried about it and you’re checking and you’re saying, okay, like, this isn’t like something phony,
Nestor Aparicio 01:37
or at the Adam Schefter without the SC Yeah.
8Luke Jones 01:40
And it’s funny, I just said to you, before we hopped on here to talk that it brings back memories of I was, you know, it’s 2007 so I was out of college and working all day, and I saw the headline that Brian Billick was out, and I was thinking, like, wow, I think I saw it on espn.com something like that. You know, I was working all day, so I hadn’t seen it until, you know, I guess, a short time thereafter. But when you see something like that, I mean, you just said it. I mean, you’ve been doing at this a long time, and the Ravens are about to embark on hiring the fourth head coach in what will be 31 years in the history of the franchise and the march
Nestor Aparicio 02:23
of broader thing was not dramatic. I was in the locker room. That was Barry Sanders last game they played the lions. He shook hands with everyone. He knew it was over. He was old. He was getting there, you know, and like, Hey, man. And so
Luke Jones 02:37
everybody he was, he was a caretaker. I mean, he was a caretaker. He was the transition coach at the time, I think,
Nestor Aparicio 02:43
8well, Marvin thought he was gone too. I mean, because once gone, like right now, we just sort of know that Todd monk and Zach, or probably going to probably, you know, usually this is, I mean, we’re in the very Nate, you know. And I guess bashati is going to have to show up, because I was literally writing a Dear Steve bishati letter. Because I did radio all day. I got Kenny Maine on. I got some radio I got to burn now, because, like, you know, the stories and I was, I was doing a regular, normal week. I’m doing my programming and talking to people about football and playoff games, not even thinking that there would be this many. That’s how resigned I was that this probably not happening for for some reason, we were in the car all day Monday, and we didn’t think like, they might fire horrible on Tuesday, or maybe horrible walks in and says, I just don’t want to die. Whatever the thing was, I don’t know that we sensed it or taught we certainly didn’t scrimmage it as two guys who do this professionally and have for a long, long time we didn’t scrimmage like, hey, let’s be on red alert. Schefter might break the news at 509, on Tuesday night. Like, I don’t know that we thought about it in the reality sense of it, and 20 minutes after the news broke is when we’re doing this right now. I don’t know that it’s settled in. We’ll have different thoughts on it Thursday or Friday of this week, because this literally is knee jerk, almost live radio between you and I, because we’ve talked about a lot of things, you and me and we spent 24 hours, more than that together, going back and forth to Pittsburgh and eating food together. I don’t know that we, like had a real a lot of discussion about this being the thing that was going to happen in some way.
Luke Jones 04:17
I mean, certainly we talked about it. But, I mean, let’s face it, if you’re talking about the track record of an organization that’s had three head coaches in three decades, and specifically this head coach who had 18 years and, okay, the three year extension signed nine months ago, like that’s part of it. But you know, if you feel, if you’re Steve bishati And you’re a billionaire, and you feel a change is necessary, or if you’re having discussions and it’s just not meshing well there, that’s certainly not going to be a deal breaker. It’s a consideration, but it’s not a deal breaker. But point is, you’re still going to default back to what’s familiar in those circumstances, which we know that Steve has been in. Incredibly loyal to John, to Eric, to Costa and to Ozzy Newsome, which Ozzy, of course, goes back to the beginning of the franchise. So of course, you’re going to default to that. I mean, it’s not as though the Ravens went two and 15 this year. It’s not as though this is their fourth straight season without a playoff appearance. So for as much as you and I, when we’ve entertained it, and I’ve mentioned Andy Reid in Philadelphia as an example of someone that, I mean, John worked with for years, and not long after John departed there, Andy Reid and the Eagles, you know, you get to a point where it’s run its course. You know, the at that point for the Eagles, it wasn’t a Super Bowl championship, but they had had four straight NFC title game appearances several years before that. But even the memory of that was getting long, where you just say maybe it is time to move on. And Andy Reid went to Kansas City has become one of the greatest coaches in the history of the National Football League. And meanwhile, the Eagles have won two Super Bowls with two different head coaches, right? So it speaks to even in circumstances where someone has been there been one place for a long time, these things can also change and move very quickly. And now you and I are going to be talking about a head coaching service.
Nestor Aparicio 06:17
I got 10 people that have texted me in the first 10 minutes. I guess you’re going to be busy for a
Luke Jones 06:21
little while, huh? My pastor texted me, my family texted me, my best buddy texted me. Other friends from high school have texted me, right? I mean, it’s but, but, like I said, until it actually happens, and then you see it, there’s still a surreal nature. Yeah, I
8Nestor Aparicio 06:37
can’t even be speculative as to whether har ball’s had his agent on the phone to get the Giants job, or this or that, or whether it’s Lamar related. I mean, we’re all under the impression that Lamar is here to stay, like you and I, we talked a lot more about Lamar, you and I in the car than we did about John Harbaugh, like, a lot more. And I guess the notion would be like if there was a power struggle there. Lamar just won, like, especially in the mind of Steve, like he Steve’s gonna go on with Lamar, and not with with with John, at least for now, still gonna negotiate with Lamar. And, you know, I did a piece with tennis kalatsos Earlier today, a football piece that probably now needs to be burned. I’m not sure you know how accurate some of this stuff is, but Dennis was, you know, of the mind frame with John and with with Steve. You know, he had some interesting thoughts about all of it, about, you know, employment and being out of work, and, like, how long it would take some of these guys to get involved. And Lamar, at all of it, we talked so much about Lamar. He’s like, Lamar didn’t have to do anything. He doesn’t have to renegotiate. He can say to them, you’re paying me 74 million because the contract says that. My mom says that, and that’s that. And you could say, Lamar, well, you got to give us money back in order to make the team better. But Lamar doesn’t have to do anything. So like he signed, he’s under contract. They’re supposed to pay him. There is no drama there that we know about, but you and I spent 90% of our time talking about change in the offseason. Lamar money contract. They can’t get rid of them. Will he be better? It’s all about that, other than, Oh my God, they’re getting rid of all the coaches. Eric’s going to be on a job search. They’re going to have a quarterback. They have Lamar to say, Hey, we got a good team here, right? I mean, this is an attractive job, dude, right? I guess, yeah,
Luke Jones 08:27
there’s no I guess about it. I mean, and I don’t want to just blatantly copy off others, but as I was kind of thinking about it and seeing some of the social media reaction, I mean, kind of go back to the last time what le floor in Green Bay, when Aaron Rodgers was his quarterback, right? And he arrives replacing Mike McCarthy. So, yeah, I mean, it’s, there’s a lot to this, and we’re going to hear some of it at the very least, and some of it’s going to come out, and some of it will probably still be speculative in nature as time goes on. You know, again, as you alluded to, we’re we’re talking about this in real time, 25 minutes after the news broke, I know Diana Rossini from the athletic reported that a pressure point is, or was Todd moncken, and apparently conversations about potentially moving on from him, And it sounds like John said no on that, so you can interpret that how you want. Was that a Well,
Nestor Aparicio 09:27
that’s an amazing thing, because both of those guys, who I now know lie a lot like literally, when I wrote the book 12 years ago, they were united in the fact. And there was reporting that Steve called har ball after the Redskins game and said, I want cam Cameron out. And John has denied that from the beginning of time with meddling and whether the owner tinkered with coordinators and stuff, we always speculated that that very well could be the case. That certainly was something I got from Billick or anything in working for Steve. Bishati, but that like he’s way more hands on football related. Even hardball’s wife said that to me one day, then the public knows, or than the fans know, or whatever, that that’s amazing to me, because it would speak to me that bashadi was always in his ear trying to screw with with coordinators or or coaching in some way, because that might be his style. Quietly, only John Harbaugh and Brian Billick would know. Yeah.
Luke Jones 10:30
8And, I mean, look there, there’s a lot to that. It’s not necessarily that Steve bishati says I don’t like Todd Monken. It could be, is your quarterback aligned with Todd monk and are other players aligned with Todd Monckton? I mean, moncken. I mean, let’s keep in mind there was plenty of reporting when the Ravens were one in five out there, anonymous sources and whatnot, and a lot of it was about Todd Monken. And look, let me, let me be very clear, my personal position is that Todd Monken, while this year wasn’t as good as the last two years, Todd Monckton was a major reason for Lamar Jackson taking his game to another level in 2023 and 24 so regardless of what happens with Todd Monckton, or if this had been a scenario where if, if horrible, had acquiesced to whatever these differences were and said, Okay, we’ll part with Todd, I would have been sitting here saying that Todd Monckton did a heck of A job for the Baltimore Ravens, you know. So in the same way that I’m going to sit here and say that even if it after 18 years, you know, I alluded to my personal opinion of maybe it is, maybe it was time, I’m not going to sit here and discredit what John Harbaugh accomplished over the last 18 years, and what he did and winning a Super Bowl, and the success that he had for a long time, regardless of what it felt like recently. So, but, but you look at that, I mean, it’s an interesting you’re
Nestor Aparicio 11:49
an interesting guy too, because, like, you’ve never known any other coach here, right? Like, I mean, and I wasn’t known to others, right? Like, literally, in all of these years. And you’re not like anybody else, because you are literally special. Chad steel lets you win, and you’re one of a handful of people that’s in a room with him a couple, three, four days a week for long stretches of time for all of your professional career, even though you know damn right, well, he was a part of throwing me out and making it so the other night in Pittsburgh, you couldn’t be in both rooms. You had to be in one or the other and you’re still in the room with him. I hear you ask him questions. Everybody hears you ask him questions and all of that stuff. Surreal was your first word. And that, honestly, when you’re on the beat and you’re near it, it was like that when Johnny Oates wasn’t around after you’re around with him for a couple of years. It was like that when Barry Trotz left. It was like that. Like every coach I ever covered coaches are so powerful in their building and amongst the fans, and speaking for the fans, that there is that whole thing that, like Billy’s message became to the people that didn’t like big words and didn’t want real explanations and whatever. And I was always like, well, beware what you hope for after Billy, because Billick was always honest, because that was the modell way. That’s what they wanted. That was the community way. This thing with HAR ball is the bishati way, is the Sashi brown and the Chad steel way. It’s not the Kevin Byrne way or the art modell way. And I’m fascinated to see what they’re going to try to do on the football field, and Eric’s role, because Eric really considers himself and he is this, which is why when I impugn his integrity, it comes from the heart, because he knows better, because he knows better. He’s a smart guy. He knows better. He knows right from wrong, and his choose has chosen wrong. So when it comes to Eric, whom I know far better than John, and over the years, I’ve liked personally better than John, and it to me, is smarter and more well read and far more well rounded as a human being than a ball coach. Eric’s Eric reads a ton of a ton of stuff, and not just football stuff. Eric’s like, Eric’s a genius, and Eric’s passion all along is creating teams, scouting, scouting, the science of scouting. He knew about the ash. I’m telling you. The reason that Mike Elias is running the Astros is because Eric dicostia had lunch with John Angelos and recommended him. And that sigma guy that I couldn’t even pronounce his name. Eric’s the one that told me how to pronounce sigma. Del So Eric to choose a coach to go out and talk to everybody’s Mike McDonald, this is up Eric’s alley in a in a scouting way, and certainly for Basti to resurrect himself and show one more championship he could do it without John, the way Kraft’s going to do it without Belichick, the way Brady did it without Belichick, the way, you know, like there I expect Steve to come guns blazing into the building and answer. Every question you have from him, except those about Justin Tucker. So I am expecting this. Teary eyed, I fired my son, but I’m looking for another we’re a Hall of Fame organ like that was a Steve. I knew when he fired Billick. Be interesting, Steve, he’s hiding, but I think, and this is all first, plus, by the way, Luke and I just got this information. We are literally not even an hour into knowing John Harbaugh’s not coming back. So this is my first, first thought, and it’s nothing that I’ve you and I have even talked about, but Eric picking a coach and with Steve, who loves the jobs, that’s how he became a billionaire. He would tell you that he told me that several times, back when he was speaking, back when I was a real media member. The fact, of course, thugs threw me out. This is up their alley. And if he loved Jason Garrett 15 years ago, they’ll bring Jason Garrett in to talk to Jason Garrett still wants to be a head coach. And I don’t, you know, I’ve already sent a text to Schwartz, but I don’t know if this would be a hey, we need a Schwartz Marvin Lewis. We need a veteran. We need somebody that can talk to Lamar and talk to the owner. And this is just a four year plan for Lamar and for Steve and for Eric. Or if this is the next 18 year, we’re going to be the Steelers, and we’re never going to have another coach again, or whether that’s going to more modernize and become something that the next coach they’re thinking about, let’s get a 60 year old to have the next five years, as opposed to a 32 year old that we think is going to be the next hot shot. Build a legacy 15 year coach or whatever, because they have a team that’s built to win right now, I don’t know that a rookie head coach like literally, I don’t know that a rookie head coach is what they’re going to be looking for, but maybe because they they love to find the diamond in the rough. So this is just me. I’m spitballing, but for me, I’m fascinated to see where they’re going to go because they both think they’re very qualified to pick people. What would shock me more is if tomorrow, the cost is gone.
Luke Jones 17:08
Yeah, a couple things and for and one of these is going to be that the Ravens in real time, as we’ve disclosed everyone we’re talking about this not too long after take phone calls here. I mean, it’s, I know right. Son hasn’t said it’s Tuesday night. He just got fired in our world. But go ahead. But, but the ravens, you know, Steve Bush, has put out a very lengthy statement, and they’ve also released a statement from John and harbor. I just want to touch on something you said, and then we’re going to, yeah, because I’m going to read it to you, and we can react to it because I’ve read part of it as you were talking about I wanted to listen to what you said. I mean, I think a lot of times when you are and again, we haven’t talked about this a whole lot, because the Baltimore Ravens have only done this a couple times in their history. We’ve talked about it more with the Orioles. But a lot of times you tend to, like go in the other direction of the guy you just had right now, John Harbaugh, once upon a time, was a young head coach. He’s 63 years old. I’m guessing you’re not going out and hiring another 60 year old head coach. I think they’re looking to hire the next John Harbaugh, in the sense that they’re hoping they’re going to hire the next guy that’s going to be here for maybe not 18 years, but 10 years, let’s say, and you hope it turns into 20. So who is that exactly? I mean, I don’t know. I mean, people have talked about Clint pub, Jesse Minter, who has hardball roots, of course. And you could you go to, do they want hardball roots? I’m wondering about that. Yeah, sure, sure. That’s a, that’s a fair question, that that would be one where you’d say, okay, maybe you want someone younger, but you want someone that’s completely outside of the John and Jim Harbaugh circle. Are you looking for an offensive head coach to marry with your 29 year old quarterback who is still in his prime, but you want to make sure pro you prolong and extend that prime as much as you can, right? So it’ll be fascinating to see how that plays out. To your point, Eric to Costa, being as cerebral as he is, as analytical as he is, you know, I don’t anticipate the power struggle, you know, the power structure you know, to change in the sense that I don’t think this necessarily means they hire a coach that’s going to answer directly to Eric. They’ve never, that’s never how been, how they’ve done things. I mean, Steve has been the boss for Eric to Costa and the boss for John Harbaugh. And you know, as they are in lockstep, side by side, not necessarily the way you think about the Orioles, for example, where Mike Elias is the general manager now the team president, and he hires the manager, right? So, so we’re, we’ll, we’ll see about that. I mean, there’s plenty to chew on as far
Nestor Aparicio 19:47
monkey’s got an interview with the browns, right? So, I mean, news is popping here as we go through this and we’ll cap it off. We’ll have a whole lot more to say. Anything? John. Is written, by the way John writes, like Donald Trump. I mean, he writes capital letters and like, he does that with text with me as well. I’m, I’m not expecting to hear from him anytime soon. But this is not shocking, right, but it is stunning
8Luke Jones 20:14
to some degree, right? Yeah. I mean, it’s like, that’s why I said the word surreal. I mean, I’m not gonna sit here. I mean, I just wrote something at Baltimore positive.com that wasn’t calling for John Harbaugh to be fired, but alluding to the possibility and the argument for why you would do it. By no means am I going to sit here and pile on and say this is all John Harbaugh’s fault. What’s happened in 2025 or last year, or two years ago, or go back. I mean, my goodness, it’s amazing. I saw it. This was just a fan video, but someone put together a package going back to Antonio Brown in the immaculate extension on Christmas Day, 2016 Nestor. Think about it, something like that has happened almost every year since then you go with that, you have Tyler Boyd in 17. You know wasn’t dramatic, but the playoff loss to the chargers in 18, what happened to them against the titans in 19? Lamar throws the pick six in Buffalo in 2020 21 they missed the playoffs. Okay, so there was no drama that year, I guess when Lamar got hurt and you knew your season was cooked at that point. A Tyler Huntley in 22 in Cincinnati, a zay flowers at the goal line in 23 mark, Andrews last year, and, of course, Tyler loop this past Sunday night. So man, that’s like a dynasty of rip your heart out moments for a fan base, right? But as I said, and I want to deliver here, because let’s react to it together. I’m going to read on air right now, because I haven’t had a chance to read this yet, and you haven’t either. Steve bishatis statement put out by the team in real time. This was 552 on Tuesday evening, so following a comprehensive evaluation of the season and the overall direction of our organization, I decided to make a change at head coach today, I informed John that he has been relieved of his duties. This was an incredibly difficult decision, given the tremendous 18 years we have spent together and the profound respect I have for John as a coach and most importantly, as a great man of integrity. Throughout what I firmly believe is a Hall of Fame coaching career, John has delivered a Super Bowl championship to Baltimore and served as a steadfast pillar of humility and leadership. He and his family have deeply, have deeply embedded themselves in this community for these profound contributions on and off the field. We should all be forever grateful. Our goal has always been and will always be, to win championships. We strive to consistently perform at the highest level on the field and be a team and organization our fans take pride in. I will always be grateful for the extraordinary hard work and dedication displayed by John and his staff throughout the many successful years. I wish he Ingrid and Allison all the best. Going forward, we now begin the challenging but exciting process of identifying the next leader of our football team. We fully understand the expectations of our fans and everyone in the Ravens organization, finding another strong leader and partner who will reflect these high standards is paramount. We deeply appreciate our fans and will continue to work relentlessly to bring them our city and the extended community the success they deserve. So my first reaction there is there is no wishy washy language about mutually agreeing to part ways. He, Steve said, I decided to make a change at head coach today, I informed John that he has been relieved of his duties. You know, rest of it, you know, things that he said about what you’d expect to hear, you know, from someone talking about a long time employee that had a lot of success, but that my first blush reaction to that is, you know, this isn’t Steve bashati Trying to sugarcoat it in a way that you know, when you say mutually agreed to part ways, you know he didn’t say, I fired his behind and nor should he say that, or nor do I think that that’s how it played out, by any stretch, but made it clear that this was his decision, and this was Not they came to an agreement at the same time, mutually saying that they should part, which so many times you hear teams and organizations and, frankly, businesses across different career fields do that. So this is Steve Basti saying, I decided to make the decision to let John go.
Nestor Aparicio 24:18
Well, and part of that also is he owes John Money. John’s not going to resign being owed $40 million so that that’s, believe me, the legal department’s involved in all of the salaries Mills there. There is no other way contractually for them. And you know, the lien against that would be if John gets a gig next week that, you know, whatever he agrees to on the salary versus that pub, John’s making $18 million a year, right? I mean, 18 to $20 million a year. So if he had two years left in this, you know, there’s 35 60 million depending on how many years he had left on the deal, three, two or three, right?
Luke Jones 24:56
Yeah, well, three years, because, keep in mind, he signed that extension. He had one year. Left on his deal.
Nestor Aparicio 25:00
8So, so there’s owed that that could be upwards. It’s more than 50 million,
Luke Jones 25:06
60 million, I want to say, and I apologize, I don’t have it sitting right in front of me. I want to save some. I think he’s making about 17 million. Okay, so you’re, you’re talking 50 plus million Right, right around that, you know, that ballpark. And then, of course, whatever. And you know, I mean, you turn on NFL Network or EA talk about a golden parachute, right? But, but at the same time, like you said, I mean talking about your phones blowing up. I mean, hit his agent and John like their phones are blowing up. Teams want to hire him. He’s going if he wants to coach, and assuming he wants to coach in 2026 he’s gonna coach in 2026 and six. And, I mean, I’ll throw it out there. I’ll throw the first, you know, the first he can take 50 million and go home, you know? I mean, Billick did that like he could. But you know, he’s coaching, you do? I think so. Okay, I think so. He’s horrible. He’s hardball. I don’t think what would that help his dad coach until? What age? Right? I mean, his brother can’t get off the field either from playing. And let’s face it, I mean, John’s gonna look I don’t think this will necessarily, necessarily means that there will be this lengthy falling out or anything like that. Certainly wouldn’t expect John to be invited to a team function three months from now, and him show up, you know, in a jovial way, per se, but John’s, John’s gonna want to stick it up there. You know what I mean, who has an opening in the AFC North right now? Who is John Harbaugh’s childhood favorite team? I’m not saying it would be the best job for him, because I think you could look at the giants with I think Jackson Dart has a chance to be a franchise quarterback, right? But he’d go to Cleveland Browns. I mean, you want to talk about spicy? I mean, my goodness, that would be spicy having horrible stay in the division. I mean, you know, I don’t know if
Nestor Aparicio 26:56
I’d wish you’ve achieved it the eggnog, leftover eggnog.
Luke Jones 27:01
Don’t tell me. Don’t tell me. That’s not distinctly
8Nestor Aparicio 27:04
possible, though. I don’t know, Kevin Stefanski could be here for all we know, right? I don’t know.
Luke Jones 27:08
I Yeah. I mean, man, that would be something. I mean, hey, Kevin Stefanski is a two time Coach of the Year. I mean,
Nestor Aparicio 27:13
all right, Harbaugh also released a gratitude and appreciate and
Luke Jones 27:18
8that one I haven’t read at all, so I’ll read that, and we can react to that as well. I did see there’s an emoji in it, which I thought was interesting.
Nestor Aparicio 27:26
But he sends emojis and text. He does, got a daughter, I do too, but I don’t know, you know if I, if I was upper case in here? Man, a lot of upper case.
Luke Jones 27:36
Yeah. It makes it pretty clear that I think the team just copy, literally copied and pasted. What? Uh, what he said.
Nestor Aparicio 27:41
It is his text. Yes, this, this is his style, the ellipsis, the whole deal.
8Luke Jones 27:45
Yeah, I’ll read this. Well, I was hoping for a different kind of message on my last day here someday, but that day has come today. Smiley faced. It comes with disappointment, certainly, but more with gratitude and appreciation. Those words in capital letters, gratitude to the owner and organization who was willing to bring in a head coach who made his mark with special team success, a difficult thing to do, and appreciation for all the moments, all these years that are etched into eternity, I hope, a legacy built on faith, always fighting, always believing, values built into an organization through a team that are worthwhile, good and lasting and that are admired by fans and foes alike, meaningful and impactful relationships with players through the years that I will cherish, always grateful for their strength and courage, loyal partnerships in this wonderful building that grew into strong friendships through the toil and tempest of the job every day, mostly to my treasured family, my Ingrid and my Allison, who are beyond compare In every way, and the loves of my life and my close knit family and good friends who stick with you no matter what. Finally, to the author and finisher of our faith, gratitude for a journey beyond anything I could have dreamed of on my own, all is well with my soul because of the good god who guides and sustains me. So that’s the statement from John Harbaugh. Is it
Nestor Aparicio 29:00
surreal for you that you’re going to go out to that building is going to be different, coach, because you’ve, yes, you’ve done this with baseball many times. And just as the media dude who’s always been in the room, it is the most surreal thing ever, and it is for the fans too. It I mean, it really is.
Luke Jones 29:14
I mean, I’m not going to sit here and lie to you. I This isn’t going to sink in for a while. You just said it. I mean, look, whether you like someone or you don’t, whether you respect someone or you don’t, in a professional sense, you know? And this goes for individuals you cover. This goes with people, your peers, right? All that like that, anyone that you spend a lot of time with, right? And we all have environments in our lives where we interact with people that we might not care for as much as other people, or they might not care for us and right? I mean, that’s just, that’s life, right? That’s part of all of us being flawed, imperfect human beings. But it’s very strange. It very It very much is, I mean, the Orioles I covered Dave Trembley for about two months. Juan Samwell was an interim, was Buck Showalter, then for what, nine years. And it was weird when Buck was gone right after. It really was, I mean, Brandon Hyde. And obviously, you know, you get to know Brandon Hyde. And even though, I mean, you and I talked so much about when, when the AX fell on Brandon Hyde, because the Orioles got off to such a disaster of a start, and it’s Tony mancilino and I’ve now had, albeit very limited interactions with Craig Albernaz, but it will still be surreal the first time I’m or the next time I’m covering Craig Albernaz In a game setting, right? I mean, I saw him after, you know, at his press conference and the Pete Alonso press conference, and, you know, said hello, I did see him out at Raven’s practice. He had actually come and John Harbaugh had think about the irony of John Harbaugh reading him and talking up to him what Baltimore is like and all that. And yet their time will not overlap at all, at least in an on field sense. So it’s strange. I mean, it really is. I think back to my first training camp. You know that I covered for wnst in 2009 when I was still a school teacher? Yeah, I did training camp two years, and would then go back to the classroom before making the switch full time. And John horball was in his second year. I can recall you graciously inviting me to what had been like an Off The Record luncheon with horrible at what was it a bill Bateman’s in roisters town or something like that. I mean, I can’t remember. And, you know, I think, I guess that was the first time I met John. And, you know, I was 26 years old at that point in time. I mean, I’m 42 now, so, or, I guess not, not quite 26 I was 25 going on 26 so, yeah, that’s, that’s strange. And, you know, I’ve asked questions over the years that John didn’t like and times, well,
Nestor Aparicio 31:57
8you piss him off on the regular, like, just looking at you pissed him off because he saw me like literally. So I don’t know, you
Luke Jones 32:04
know, but that’s the job. And let me be clear, I’m not, I’m not saying that to make it about me whatsoever, because it’s not about me. I mean, this is someone who should be held with great reverence in the big picture of Baltimore sports for what he did for the franchise and bringing a Super Bowl to Baltimore, that that that’s one thing, one thing. I’ll get on my soapbox here for just a moment that has annoyed me in the last couple days and whenever the discourse has come up over. John Harbaugh, look, I said to you, do I think it was probably time? Do I think that this had maybe run its course? I think back to John often, like to cite Bo Schembechler, of course, Michigan guy, you know, big surprise, John would have an affinity for a long time coach in Ann Arbor, but he cited the quote. And other people have alluded to this. I don’t know if Schembechler was the first one who ever uttered this, but he talked about the idea that you’re either getting better or you’re getting worse. You don’t stay the same. And when you look at what’s happened in the last two years with the Ravens being at the AFC hosting the AFC title game, first time Baltimore had experienced that in five decades, and two years later, to not even be in the playoffs with mostly the same team, regardless of circumstances. Of this year, it was growing more and more difficult to look at this, to look at how they were losing games, and feel that it wasn’t the latter, that this was dissipating, diminishing in some way. Again, I’m not gonna I will wholeheartedly reject that everything that’s plagued the Ravens in January is about John Harbaugh, the players have to be accountable. Eric DaCosta has to be accountable too, right? With elements of roster building that I think have been not up to par In the way that they could be, quite frankly. So this is but it also goes back to what you often talk about in terms of baseball, right, where you can’t fire the can’t fire the 26 man roster, so the manager goes, right. So, so while I certainly understand and can follow this and rationalize this at the same time, believe me, fans are passionate. Fans in this town are ticked and frustrated with how recent years have gone when you see a team that goes 14 and two in 2019 goes, What 13 and four two years ago, having a two time MVP at quarterback, having these years where the Ravens have sent a dozen guys to the Pro Bowl, and you have one AFC title game to your name in this Lamar Jackson era. I get all that, but the thing that’s irritated me that I think we can be better about whether we’re talking about it as fans or media, is the idea that we’re discrediting someone’s entire legacy. You know, when I hear people say like, Oh, John Harbaugh, he had Ray Lewis, you know, he had a Hall of Famer is like, I say this with no disrespect to Brian Billick, and you know, I have affinity for Brian, and I certainly know you do. Let’s face it, what. You can attest to this better than I can. What was the state of that ravens locker room when Brian Billick was let go, there was a lot of dissension and a lot of not great vibes. John came in, first time, head coach, special teams coordinator, you know, all those players when they hired John, horrible. I mean, I’m sure they’re all saying, Hey, Jim. Jim was here three, three years ago as a player, or not, three years, 10 years ago as a player. But, you know, what are we talking about here. John came in and had a very different style from Brian, not saying good or bad, different. And, you know, threw some guys like Chris McAllister out the door, basically and but you know what happened? That team got in line in a way that didn’t necessarily happen now, it also helped immensely that they drafted Joe Flacco right in that Brian Billick never had that franchise quarterback that worked it out to that degree. But John deserves a ton of credit for that, and for anyone to diminish his role in those years, and to diminish areas that he’s been successful, and to make it seem like the Ravens have had the success that they have enjoyed over the last 18 years as that they did it in spite of their incompetent head coach. I just reject that. And frankly, that opinion sounds really dumb. So I will leave it at that. And I just wanted to say that because even people that I otherwise respect, and I’ll Hey, I even have some friends who listen regularly that have trashed horrible to such a degree that I think you sound a little ridiculous, that I just want to put that out there and say this is someone that should be held in a higher regard, whether you’re happy right now that he that, that they’ve let him go, or any of that, right? I mean, I’m anxious and curious to see where they go from here. But let’s not we can. You can be happy about the Ravens making this change, or relieved or excited or overjoyed, even, but we can do that in a way, while also acknowledging the good work the guy did for a really long time here, and fully acknowledging he’s going to be in the Ring of Honor. Probably a decent chance this guy’s going to be in the Hall of Fame, especially if he goes somewhere else and has a second act that I don’t know if he wins the Super Bowl somewhere else or gets to a Super Bowl somewhere else. You know, I don’t know if that’s going to happen or not. But just, I wanted to say that because I think there were very sound arguments to make about moving on from John, without using the hyperbole that that that he’s some dummy, that that they’ve won in spite of for 18 years, I just, I completely reject that, and I think that’s a really dumb take. Leave it at that. If I’m ruffling some feathers, then fine, I ruffled some feathers. I’m not insulting people for that. I’m insulting that opinion, which I just, I think was a little low brow for someone that brought up a Lombardi Trophy here, in the same way that I anyone who discred wanted to discredit Brian Billick. When John was hired and when, you know, they parted ways with Brian brought a Lombardi Trophy here. I mean, these are the types of individuals that should be remembered fondly. Had imperfection Sure, was it time to move on? Sure, but that’s just something I wanted to say, because I saw a lot of that here over the last couple days and even the last month. I’d say that, you know, some of that, it’s like you can make a sound point here without tearing down everything the guy has done, you know, leading up to these last several years, where maybe you wanted to say, okay, maybe this isn’t the best fit anymore for both sides.
Nestor Aparicio 38:39
All right, it’s all fresh. Luke and I are literally this. This happened during the hour of our recording. So more news will break, more thoughts will be shared, more opinions will be shared. I will seek them. Luke will be out of Baltimore, positive. He will be in Owings Mills. Whenever bashati shows up to talk about this, or Eric Decosta, or whatever the team is going to put in front of it. I have no idea. I guess we are going to learn how much John shaped the culture of the building. And my letter to Steve Basti that has been stopped in its tracks by the firing of Brian. Now we could say the firing of John Harbaugh, because that’s pretty that’s what it was the firing of John Harbaugh, that the culture of the building is what I think I’m interested in, and what part of that was John Harbaugh, so we’ll see. Luke is there. I am here. We are, W, N, S, T AM. 1570 towels in Baltimore to be continued on Baltimore positive. Stay with us.
