The sudden end and aftermath of the Bisciotti Harbaugh divorce in Owings Mills

It all happened so suddenly on Tuesday that we needed some time to fully digest the first coaching change since Luke Jones joined our Baltimore Ravens beat in 2009. He joins Nestor to discuss all of the Owings Mills drama in the John Harbaugh firing fallout and who owner Steve Bisciotti will hire as next the head coach of the franchise.

Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discussed the aftermath of John Harbaugh’s firing, focusing on the potential candidates for the next Ravens head coach. They highlighted the influence of Steve Bisciotti, Eric DeCosta, and Sashi Brown in the hiring process. Possible candidates include Jesse Minter, Brian Daboll, and Brian Flores. The conversation also touched on the impact of recent losses, particularly the back-to-back home defeats against Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, which may have hastened Harbaugh’s departure. They speculated on Harbaugh’s future, suggesting he might join the Cleveland Browns. The discussion emphasized the importance of finding a coach who aligns with the team’s values and can maintain the franchise’s success.

• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Restart the Maryland crab cake tour and take it back out on the road (public events/tour appearances) to engage listeners and promote the show
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Write and send a ‘Dear Steve Bisciotti’ letter (described as a spicy letter addressing the owner’s decisions and culture) for public distribution or publication
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Continue public discussion and promotion of GBMC and Coppin State by talking about them on the show and in outreach (raise awareness and encourage community engagement)

Harbaugh’s Firing and Its Aftermath

• Nestor Aparicio discusses the aftermath of John Harbaugh’s firing, mentioning his Maryland crab cake tour and his boozy eggnog.
• Nestor reflects on the reactions from listeners and the importance of their opinions.
• The conversation touches on the power structure within the Ravens organization, including the roles of Steve Bisciotti, Eric DeCosta, and Sashi Brown.
• Nestor and Luke Jones speculate on the influence of different members of the Ravens’ decision-making team.

Potential Candidates and Influence of Key Figures

• Nestor and Luke discuss the potential candidates for the next head coach, including Jesse Minter, Brian Daboll, and Brian Flores.
• Nestor emphasizes Steve Bisciotti’s preference for a “big bully Ball Coach,” similar to John Harbaugh.
• Luke Jones highlights the influence of Eric DeCosta and the potential involvement of Sashi Brown in the hiring process.
• The conversation explores the possibility of the Ravens hiring an up-and-coming coach or someone with ties to the organization.

Steve Bisciotti’s Decision-Making Process

• Nestor and Luke speculate on the decision-making process of Steve Bisciotti and the influence of his past experiences.
• Luke mentions the secretive nature of the Ravens organization and the potential for unexpected hires.
• The discussion includes the possibility of the Ravens hiring a coach with a background in special teams or a college coach.
• Nestor and Luke reflect on the importance of finding a coach who aligns with Steve Bisciotti’s vision and the team’s needs.

Impact of Recent Games and Player Dissatisfaction

• Luke Jones discusses the impact of recent games, including losses to Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, on the decision to fire John Harbaugh.
• The conversation touches on the dissatisfaction among players, particularly with offensive coordinator Todd Monken.
• Nestor and Luke reflect on the challenges faced by John Harbaugh in managing player expectations and maintaining team cohesion.
• The discussion includes the potential for staffing changes and the influence of player feedback on coaching decisions.

John Harbaugh’s Legacy and Future Prospects

• Nestor and Luke discuss John Harbaugh’s legacy and his potential future prospects as a coach.
• Luke highlights John Harbaugh’s success with Lamar Jackson and the impact of his coaching style on the team’s performance.
• The conversation explores the possibility of John Harbaugh joining another team, such as the Cleveland Browns.
• Nestor and Luke reflect on the importance of finding a coach who can continue the success of the Ravens’ recent history.

Emotional Intelligence and Team Dynamics

• Nestor and Luke discuss the emotional intelligence and communication skills of potential new coaches.
• The conversation touches on the importance of a coach’s ability to connect with players and manage team dynamics.
• Nestor reflects on the impact of Steve Bisciotti’s leadership style and the need for a coach who can work well with the owner.
• The discussion includes the potential for cultural changes within the Ravens organization and the importance of finding a coach who aligns with the team’s values.

The Role of Lamar Jackson and Offensive Performance

• Luke Jones discusses the impact of Lamar Jackson on the Ravens’ coaching decisions and the team’s offensive performance.
• The conversation explores the challenges faced by the offense, including the decline in production from key players like Marquise Brown and Mark Andrews.
• Nestor and Luke reflect on the importance of finding a coach who can develop and maintain a successful offensive strategy.
• The discussion includes the potential for staffing changes and the influence of player feedback on coaching decisions.

The Future of the Ravens’ Coaching Staff

• Nestor and Luke discuss the potential for staffing changes within the Ravens’ coaching staff.
• The conversation touches on the importance of finding a coach who can work well with the existing staff and develop a cohesive team.
• Nestor reflects on the challenges faced by the coaching staff in managing player expectations and maintaining team cohesion.
• The discussion includes the potential for new hires and the importance of finding a coach who aligns with the team’s values and goals.

The Impact of Ownership and Management on Coaching Decisions

• Nestor and Luke discuss the influence of ownership and management on coaching decisions within the Ravens organization.
• The conversation explores the importance of finding a coach who can work well with Steve Bisciotti and the front office.
• Nestor reflects on the challenges faced by coaches in managing ownership expectations and maintaining team cohesion.
• The discussion includes the potential for cultural changes within the organization and the importance of finding a coach who aligns with the team’s values and goals.

The Importance of Emotional Intelligence in Coaching

• Nestor and Luke discuss the importance of emotional intelligence in coaching and its impact on team performance.
• The conversation touches on the challenges faced by coaches in managing player expectations and maintaining team cohesion.
• Nestor reflects on the importance of finding a coach who can connect with players and develop a successful team dynamic.
• The discussion includes the potential for new hires and the importance of finding a coach who aligns with the team’s values and goals.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

John Harbaugh, Ravens drama, Steve Bisciotti, next head coach, Eric DeCosta, Sashi Brown, Todd Monken, Lamar Jackson, Brian Daboll, Brian Flores, Jesse Minter, franchise quarterback, offensive coordinator, player dissatisfaction, coaching change.

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SPEAKERS

Luke Jones, Nestor Aparicio

Nestor Aparicio  00:01

Welcome home. We are W, N, S T. Am 1570 to Baltimore. We are Baltimore positive, positively into the aftermath of the firing of John Harbaugh in Owings Mills. I’m getting the Maryland crab cake tour back out on the road. I have candy cane cash. They smell like Christmas, which I still have some eggnog. I bought some boozy eggnog at Koco’s that my wife said was really boozy because she was drinking it while I was freezing up in Pittsburgh on Sunday night. A lot has transpired since Lucas and I made our way down the mountain from Monroeville. I’ve done a lot of radio here. The last couple of days, a lot of you have been reaching out to me in various ways, and I am and the internet. Thank you. Appreciate y’all being there and appreciate y’all caring what we think and our opinions on all this, having done this professionally, at least one of us for a long time, Luke, is here, I am here, and we’re going to continue the debate about all of this. And I guess the the only question left now is it’s not about hardball or rear view mirror, although a lot of it is as to what they want to do or what not they what Steve wants to do. They, you know, like Eric’s going to be in on this chat. Steel will get a vote. Sasha will get a vote. I remember how this worked the last time around, there’s a consortium that they bring in, and dicostal will be clearly, Ozzy will be involved in this as well. So to me, that’s the process, because I know how they did it the last time, unless that’s changed how Steve likes to hire. And as I said, before this all happened, I think you can go back to Monday morning. Steve and Eric fancy themselves pickers of people, so for better or worse. So this is up their alley to go on a job search as much as they Eric hasn’t done it before, but he does it for football players all the time. They get to Johnny Bravo this and, you know, they can figure out what they want and who they want, and this, this will be interesting to see what Steve bashati comes up with because this really is on him.

Luke Jones  02:01

Yeah. I mean, it’s going to be fascinating. You just said it. I mean, you do have a different dynamic with what your brain trust looks like now compared to what it looked like back in January of 2008 now that doesn’t mean Ozzie Newsome is not going to have any influence, right? Doesn’t mean that Eric to Costa didn’t have, you know, some opinion way back when, but he wasn’t the general manager then, right? So certainly Eric’s going to have more influence. But to your point, assuming, and this is a question I would have for Steve Basti, assuming the power structure remains the same, right? Is it going to continue to be general manager and head coach side by side, they each answer to the owner or, you know, and I don’t think they’re doing this, but would this be a situation where you have a veteran General Manager and maybe you do alter things? And Eric, I would bet

Nestor Aparicio  02:52

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Sashi Brown’s in on this, and I bet that won’t go well, because nothing’s gone well from the minute he walked in the building for most people, by most admissions, and he came in from Cleveland at Owen 17, or whatever the hell it was, one in 15, whatever it was. And I know the first, the last time I got together with Eric, he just taken over. And some people think Sashi thinks he’s a football guy, because in Cleveland, apparently he was so I know the whites of Eric dicost His eyes in regard to Sashi brown picking the football coach. But that’s about to happen.

Luke Jones  03:24

Well, I mean, he’s going to be part of it, because Dick Cass was a part of it when Brian or not? When Brian, when John Harbaugh was hired.

Nestor Aparicio  03:31

So Dick Cass was definitely in on fire. And Brian Sure, definitely, sure, yeah.

Luke Jones  03:35

So, I mean, we’re going to see how it plays out. And knowing Steve bishati and Eric dicostia. And knowing the franchise, which I’ve said this, they take, they take almost as much pride in being secretive as being successful in the field at this point. That’s where I would say exercise a little bit of caution about assumptions about who they’re going to hire in the sense that, okay, Jesse Minters name is out there a lot. Look. He has ties to the Ravens. You know, the one aspect that might make you take some pause is if you want a clean break from a horrible guy, because Jesse Minter has been both a John Harbaugh and a Jim Harbaugh guy, that would make you take some pause, by the way,

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Nestor Aparicio  04:21

nobody’s been a bigger hardball guy than bishati. I mean, bishati had his own way. He’d hire hard balls brother, you know. I mean, like, there’s a quarterback whisperer there, right? Like, so to me, he’s going to hire some big bully Ball Coach. That’s who Steve thinks he walks like a man military. Like, that’s who John is. I mean that you know, and Steve loved that about John. I don’t know that Eric did, but I didn’t know Steve did. Steve loved the Trump and John, he did, and he loved the liar and John and the front facing and the corporate executive and the tough guy and the other. Did the, you know, scrappy special teams, you know, like he loved all of that. I can’t imagine him going with someone that’s like Brian Billick, you know what I mean, like, or, you know it, it better be somebody that that has Steve’s trades, because that, that, to me, feels like what Steve’s going to want ultimately, and all the rest of this is eye wash, what Sashi wants, or Eric make him feel good, but Steve’s going to hire his guy.

Luke Jones  05:26

I mean, I, I agree with that. At the same time, Eric dicost is going to have more influence than, certainly, than he did if he if his opinion was asked, how much it was asked when they hired John arball Once upon a time. Because I

Nestor Aparicio  05:41

don’t think Eric’s in there saying to Steve, we need some of more emotional intelligence and more honesty and more transparency, and somebody that’s better facing the community, better facing our locker room. Just I don’t think anybody’s thinking like that. And I don’t think Sashi is thinking like that either, but

Luke Jones  05:56

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Eric would be talking in terms of from a football standpoint, you know, is there something that John lacked that they’d like, like I said in a previous segment, whether it’s an offensive guy that’s going to be married to your franchise quarterback, that’s going to be in lockstep, that might be able to connect with your franchise quarterback in a different way, because you can talk ball in a different way than John Harbaugh would. Not that John Harbaugh, like this, isn’t me saying John Harbaugh didn’t know anything about the offense or anything, but, but we also know that wasn’t his area of expertise, right? So, you know you talked about in our previous segment about whether it’s a someone that would have a quarterback background, for example, and but, but getting ahead of myself here, I want to go back to what I was trying to say a couple minutes ago. Would not at all be shocked if, in their effort to be off the beaten path, think outside the box. I mean, they thought outside the box with John Harbaugh, right whether he was the first choice of the second choice. He’s ultimately the guy that they hired, and it worked out very well. They would, they would point out to you, that’s where you look at that and say, Okay, we’re talking a lot about Jesse Minter. We’re talking about when Kubiak, Brian Flores, his name is popular around the league, Chris Shula, who was the grandson of Don Chula, which would be interesting considering Don Juan’s history in Baltimore, you know, but he’s the DC for the LA Rams. But would not at all be surprised knowing this franchise and knowing the way that they like to think outside the box, that the hire is someone that no one is talking about right now, right? I mean, whether it’s, you know, whether it would be a college guy, or whether it would be some coordinator that no one’s really

Nestor Aparicio  07:49

fossil, I bet that, you know, right? So, yeah, special teams coach, you know? I mean, it

Luke Jones  07:55

is, I’m thinking more in terms of more of an up and comer, right, you know. I mean, obviously he’s been around, is well known and has been for a long time amongst assistants in that way. So I don’t know. I mean,

Nestor Aparicio  08:07

so is Dave tob, but nobody ever hired him. So, oh, I’m

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Luke Jones  08:12

guessing it’s not going to be another special teams coach.

Nestor Aparicio  08:16

But that speaks to Steve. That’s the way Steve’s going to

Luke Jones  08:18

think, yeah, but I mean just, I would also say just the odds, the probability of that just seems relatively low, right and and right away that the the connotation

Nestor Aparicio  08:29

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would be, I don’t know, you know what a shot. He would say, right now, take a drag off his cigar. He’d say, worked out pretty good last time, didn’t it? Yeah.

Luke Jones  08:38

But then the argument would be, well, maybe should have just kept the guy. I don’t know.

08:43

Who knows, but yeah,

Luke Jones  08:45

I mean, I’m certainly more intrigued in, you know, the the up and coming, first time young head coach, more so than, I don’t know, Robert Sala, Mike McCarthy, you know guys that it’s not this, and that’s not even to say that it can’t work, or wouldn’t work if they go in that direction. There’s a lot to work with here. You’ve got a franchise quarterback. You’ve got one of the very best defensive players in football, and Kyle Hamilton, whose value became very obvious when you saw how the defense completely collapsed without him on Sunday night. That’s why he was a team MVP in 2025 so you know, you go down the list. I mean, Vance Joseph’s name has been thrown out there. I mean, there was a report on Cliff Kingsbury. I don’t know if that was more so from an offensive coordinator to me, that’d be a tough sell as a head coach, but as an OC, you know, with the kind of offense he’s tried to run. I mean, it’d be interesting. I mean, Jaden Daniels had a ton of success last year with him as his OC. So if you want to make that comparison, but I mean, it’s they’re going to cast, they’re going to cast a wide net. And the other thing I will say here, knowing their organization, knowing Eric Decosta, there’s been. Some leg work that’s been done. I don’t, I don’t think, just because it came to what it did on Tuesday, that was not a snap reaction to Tyler, Luke missing the kick on Sunday night. I wholeheartedly believe, you know, I don’t know. You know, it’s not like Steve Basti had a phone conversation with me on Tuesday night. I think when we’re looking back at this, think the month of December is really just going to loom extremely large, beginning with thanksgiving. So the end of November, and considering where they were at that point, keep in mind they had won five in a row. They were six and five. They were back in first place, right? I mean, they were right there with Pittsburgh, and they lost it home to Cincinnati in Joe burrows return, played very poorly right turn the ball over, over and over and just just, was a lousy performance, and then for them to come back the next week with extra rest, facing a Steelers team that had looked left for dead the week before hadn’t thrown the ball down the field whatsoever, right? It had been literally over a month since they had completed a pass of 20 plus their yards. I mean, remember that stat had been out there that week, and they come out and Aaron Rodgers just throws the ball over their head repeatedly, and they lose that game, those two back to back home losses like that against, let’s face it, this wasn’t a year where Cincinnati was 12 and 412, and five, and Pittsburgh was 11 and six, like, like you could talk about a decade ago when, when the Bengals and the Steelers were both playing at a much higher level overall. I think those two games right there, when it’s all said and done, whether, whether Steve bishady or Eric dicost Or anyone admits as much, you know, weeks from now, months from now, years from now, I think those two losses right there kind of felt like the turning point where John could really be in danger. And this is is really starting to be concerning, because when they won the five in a row, you’re thinking, all right, here they go. They’re six and five. They’ve got two, you know, they’ve got back to back division home games against, you know, we don’t, well, they were

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Nestor Aparicio  12:14

like 70% to be playing this week at one point, right? Oh, sure, that’s but that’s

Luke Jones  12:19

what I’m saying. So when they lose those two games at home, that was a bad sign. And we, you know, that’s when I jumped ship, right in terms of really having much belief in this football team at that point in time. And then when you couple that those back to back defeats with what happened in the New England game and not running Derrick Henry and blowing a 10 point lead in the fourth quarter. That’s when you look at that in hindsight. I think, I think that four game stretch, or they lost three out of those four and back to back division home games far, far more damaging than what happened on Sunday night in Pittsburgh. Sunday night in Pittsburgh that based on how this went, based on how this went down, I’m not convinced that Tyler Luke making the kick saves John Harbaugh’s job for more than just one week, right? But because if they lost to Houston on Monday night, and you know, defense didn’t look good, and the offensive line got their butts kicked by that Texans front. I think it’s very, very well possible they’re having the same discussion next Tuesday or next Wednesday, and it’s the same outcome. So I don’t know that. But I think when you look at Steve Basti and how he’s operated, and the fact that this is the only coach he’s ever hired and and, you know, he talked about it 18 years ago, how he wanted to hire a Hall of Fame coach, and he very well may have, may have, right when it’s all said and done, John Harbaugh very well could be in the Hall of Fame one day, but that wasn’t going to be a move made in haste. And we talked about that kind of in general terms, about Tom Lynn and horrible going into last week where it’s we kind of said, if either one of these organizations is going to make a change, what happens Sunday night? Yeah, might be the final the final hammer tap into the final nail in the coffin for that individual. But that wasn’t going to be something where it’s like a pass, fail and then you lose that game, you’re fired. These are organizations that were going to be way more methodical about it. And even if Steve didn’t know for sure that he was going to fire John on Tuesday, he very clearly was prepared for that possibility, right? I don’t think this was he was 100% keeping John. John Harbaugh’s agent was ready to work. You know what I mean. So right, exactly and, and when you see how much traction there was, you know his agent, I’m sure in the aftermath of what, even if John didn’t want to hear about it last week, I’m sure in the aftermath of what happened Sunday night, he and his agent talked on Monday, and he said, Look, this, this team, this team, and this team. And they’re very interested in you if conversations with Steve don’t go well,

Nestor Aparicio  15:06

dude, when you’re when you’re owed over $50 million when you walk in there on Tuesday morning, and John’s got the jaw the size of, you know, Mount Rushmore that I could see where it’s just like, I don’t need this if it’s not going to be my way, I’m out, you know, and that’s probably the way it should be for a head coach. And Steve would probably say that too. And especially, it really opens up the wounds and the worms to me of the cam Cameron thing, and how much Steve really did go to John and say and make it John’s idea, in a general sense, because I’m a leader, and let me tell you how it’s done, and I respect you so much. Steve, so I that’s how that relationship went, and I know that that’s how it couldn’t go for for Billick back in the day, he couldn’t communicate in that way. And again, I go back to will, will the next coach have more emotional intelligence? Probably not because the owner doesn’t well. To go back

Luke Jones  16:04

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to what you just said, that’s the difference between a fifth year head coach and an 18th year head coach, right? I mean, there’s you’re at a different point in the relationship. You know whether, whether you’re going to divorce or not, you’re at a different point in the relationship. And you know from the reporting that’s been out there, and so much in terms of anonymous reports and player comments and and all that, it’s very clear there was a lot of disenchantment with Todd Monken and John Harbaugh said, No, I’m not getting rid of them. And look, from John’s perspective, you say, you know, and Lamar, whether it’s Lamar, any other offensive players whatever, right? I mean, we know that that was out there, right? That whether a name was attached to it or not, there were clearly some prominent players on the offense that were unhappy with Todd Monken earlier in the year, and don’t think that really changed, right? It’s not like the

Nestor Aparicio  16:53

offense that’s not unusual when guys aren’t getting the ball right.

Luke Jones  16:57

That’s not unusual when you’re losing right? Guys are frustrated. I mean, these are, these are grown men, like it’s

Nestor Aparicio  17:01

but they’re also wide receivers that were never going to get the ball 18 times in this offense. And I’ve talked about that for years, that the ego of wide receivers, and what Willie sneeb was willing to do here seven years ago, and what Hollywood Brown was unsatiated by nine targets a game, you know, not enough, right?

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Luke Jones  17:19

At the same time, there was dramatic drop off in terms of what wide receivers and tight ends were doing in this offense in 2024 and 2023 even compared to 2025 I mean, Isaiah, likely was in a contractor, made a great catch on Sunday night. He had 27 catches this year. Now. He missed the first few games of the season, but still. Mark Andrews, who the Ravens just signed to a contract extension. At 48 catches, he had

Nestor Aparicio  17:43

422 yards. Well, one of them can say that monk can cost him money in an eight mark.

Luke Jones  17:48

Andrews, sure, but, but the PU I mean, Rashad Bateman. Rashad Bateman, go look at what his numbers were in 2024 compared to what they were in 2025 and okay, I get it. He missed four games, but he went from 45 catches, 756, yards and nine touchdowns to 19 catches, 224, yards and two touchdowns. Now I’m not, I’m not trying to connect the dots here, as much as just like

Nestor Aparicio  18:17

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it’s nobody’s happy. Nobody’s happy would be the

Luke Jones  18:20

only guy that would be happy, right? Well, he ain’t happy because they lost, right? And exactly. And again, a lot of this like, it’s not, it’s both right guys. Guys want numbers and they want to be able to make money themselves, but they also want to win all things being equal. If, if you get a great contract from the Kansas City Chiefs and a great contract from the New York Jets, where are you going? You’re going to Kansas City, right? I mean, it’s just the reality, because you know you’re going to have a way better chance to win there, maybe not this year, but you get my point so. But I just, I think that. But from John’s perspective, it’s not difficult to sit here and say, well, Lamar had his best season of his career. Last year with Todd Monken Lamar was MVP of the league. Two years ago with Todd Monken Lamar played better than ever with Todd monk and now this year, he got hurt in week three, and our offensive line stunk and like and, you know, I mean, John’s got to own elements of the team that underperformed, right? He’s the head coach, but that would be his argument for saying, we’re going to get rid of Todd why? Because some guys are mad that our past protection stunk and our passing game wasn’t nearly as consistent or functional that as it needed to be. No, I’m not doing that so. And that would be John’s perspective. And if Steve is thinking about it through the lens of, you know, you know you want to do everything you can to keep your franchise quarterback as happy as possible, knowing you have a contract negotiation to do

Nestor Aparicio  19:49

without thinking the inmates are running the asylum, which is like, that’s the first part of management that, like probably led to blows on Tuesday to make this thing. To blow up, which is sort of like who’s running the place, the coach or Lamar, certainly not the general manager, and he’s picking the ingredients. It’s not the owner, because he’s been absentee for a decade by all accounts, in regard to picking the coaches and stuff, he ain’t doing that, or the perception has been that he couldn’t and wouldn’t and never could. And Steve and John, when I wrote a book about him, oh, Steve would never do that, like John said, the minute Steve comes in and tells me to change coaches, the minute I’m out of here, well, Tuesday, I don’t you know. I don’t know what else to say, because that’s the report. The report is that John burned up about that. And John always told me that he would burn up about that, John, guarantee me that it never happened before. I don’t know. I don’t know who to believe. That’s part of the problem out there, and that’s the culture I talk about, which is, it’s a culture of dishonesty. You said to me Sunday, at some point, maybe driving up or driving back, that it’s just exhaustive, right? Like, like, the horrible way and the paranoia away and all of it you as a media guy who just goes out there and witnesses it, and Chad steel tells you where to stand. There is something very exhausting about them. And for the players, they look exhausted. John, look exhausted the other just in a general sense, it just feels like they took an oxygen break on Monday and came back after a Tuesday and they realized what the whole city realized. And I this was my thesis before, is the city quit on John. The fans quit on John. The locker room quit on John. I mean, I remember when Mike Patton said to me when Brian got fired, I said, Dick Cass, Mike Preston, the paper, maybe John Ogden, or a couple of players, but maybe not. I never felt like Ray went in and said, I hate Brian. I just never got that vibe. I never did. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe it was reported that way. I never felt that way, but it was brought to me by Mike Patton that the coach got the coach fire, you know, like, that’s, that’s kind of how Rex, Ryan and the guys that survived it and went on with John for five minutes, that’s kind of how they justified it. Is, like Brian and Steve were were oil and water, and that wasn’t working in that and Steve needed a quarterback, and didn’t think Brian was as smart as Brian. Thought Brian was about quarterbacks, and just said, I’m going to go do my own thing. I want my you know, he wanted a lot of things. Brian wasn’t right, like, literally, from a biblical standpoint, brotherly standpoint, family standpoint, Johnny Bravo and more than that, young and directable. John always said Steve teaches me so much. Brian wasn’t at that game, like Brian be in a room and said, What’s Steve going to teach me about football? Like, stop, like, like, Brian was more like that. So I don’t know what the next person is or where, how Steve is mature. Steve’s matured so much that he stopped taking questions. Runs like hell. Wants no questions from just about Justin Tucker ran from me on a balcony three years ago after throwing me out. So that’s how much Steve’s matured in regard to emotional intelligence and embracing the city, which is certainly not out of the modell handbook, dude, you know. So I don’t know what they’re coming in with, but I don’t think Steve’s thinking like David Modell at all, but he should be, because the stands are emptying out.

Luke Jones  23:24

All that being said, he made a really good hire in John Harbaugh, 18 years ago. So you know, we’re gonna see how that works out. I mean, we’re gonna see if they let’s you know, for anyone who is sitting here excited about the fact that the Ravens moved on from John Harbaugh, which is fine, right? I mean, I said, I’m

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Nestor Aparicio  23:42

not excited about it, by the way. I my old boss reached to me, Matt, who I love more than anyone, and said, Can I give you some advice? He said, Write this to John. And I’m like, I’m not, I am not spiking the ball on John. I meant, like, I just don’t want people to think that I’m that guy. I wasn’t like my pal Joe, out on the internet, crushing him every I like, I don’t think he’s a bad football coach. You know how I know that he’s owed $50 million he’s gonna go back to work by the end of the week, maybe by the end of the day, right? Like, literally, if somebody’s really in love with him, and John’s five years, 125 million, come get it. Like, boom, I’m gone, right. Give me a quarterback gone, boom. And who am I going to take with me? Monkey? Let’s go. Whoever it is, whoever he likes. But like for me, with John, I am not jumping for joy. I don’t even know what direction they’re going in. And I don’t think John’s a bad Ball Coach. I think John, John was John’s worst enemy, is all I can say in regard to my treatment and the fans treatment, and how he perceived the job and and the paranoid nature that is at that eats at his soul, that makes him not as happy as he should be as a human being, quite frankly, in my opinion, yeah.

Luke Jones  25:00

He was there 18 years anyone in any walk of life, 18 years is a long time to be at a place. And look, we’re all human beings that are applaud and imperfect, and we have things that are good about us and things that are bad about us and things that people like and things that don’t people don’t like. You know, the point that I was making, and when I said excited, I wasn’t, obviously, wasn’t talking about you, was just talking about fans who are excited about change, the possibilities. It could open up, the idea that you bring in the next head coach, and you break through, and you finally win a Super Bowl, or get to a Super Bowl, right? I mean, the lack of January success, undoubtable. You know, you know you couldn’t. You couldn’t dispute that about this Lamar Jackson era of the Baltimore Ravens, but you just hope the ravens are as successful making this hire as they were the last two hires for their head coaches. I mean, it’s not easy to do now. That is never an excuse and and just like the arguments, Well, John would have a job in five minutes. That’s never an excuse to to not make a change. If you feel like you need to make a change. I said this to you. I said this on the air.

Nestor Aparicio  26:13

Sadly, John felt like they needed to make a change. If he’s going to tell me who to be a coordinate,

Luke Jones  26:17

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right? And that’s right. Then and again you get to it

Nestor Aparicio  26:19

speaks for itself. It would say that it works itself out, that you get in the room and you’re so pissed and you can’t go on inside philosophically, you’re just in two different places. You move on. You have to, otherwise you stay in your miserable and you lose

Luke Jones  26:33

it’s the difference of a 50 year old John Harbaugh and his fifth year as a head coach, who was established, but not to the degree that he is now, compared to a 63 year old John Harbaugh, who’s been in the same place in 18 years, and he’s heard all the noise, and probably, in some ways, feels a little underappreciated, right? I mean, whether that’s legitimate or not, he might feel that way. You know, when he’s hearing ban discontent and media speculation and things that he might deal with behind closed

Nestor Aparicio  27:05

doors, where he goes next, right? But, but

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Luke Jones  27:08

you get to the point where you say, All right, I’m done. I’m you know, let this is run its course. Brian Billick famously talked about Bill Walsh, who was one of the greatest of all time, won multiple Super Bowls with Joe Montana and the Niners in the 80s, right? He talked about the idea of a head coach having a shelf life. There was what, and whatever that number was in the 80s, certainly wasn’t 18 years, right? And even, even if you try to argue in the salary cap era because you have more roster turnover, that it’s conceivable that a head coach could reinvent himself and adapt, and John Harbaugh got a second act. Let’s face it, Lamar Jackson saved jobs in that building. There’s no question about that, with where they were, having missed the playoffs three straight years, and you had, even though it’s funny to say an aging quarterback because Joe flacco’s Still playing in the league all these years later, but a quarterback who was not at his peak anymore, and the roster building around him wasn’t good enough, and we know that they were on their way to missing the playoffs, potentially for a fourth straight year, John was probably gonna be gone at that point in time, not to mention who, whoever else right and questioning everything, front office, coaching staff, all that. So Lamar Jackson comes in, and regardless of where the relationship was here recently, or how Lamar felt about John, or how John felt about Lamar in 2025 I mean, har ball, to his credit and the coaching staff’s credit at that point in time, man, they leaned hard into it, right? They they embraced. They called it the revolution, right? I mean, you called it a bumper cars right in 2018 and then, you know, Roman develop, develops an offense that was kind of old school in some ways, but also like, hey, let’s embrace the fact that this kid has an amazing mobility and athletic skill set. And, you know, we’ll, we’ll develop the passing part as time goes on. And they had a lot of success with that. So John Harbaugh deserves his credit with that as well, and that’s where he got a second act. But as the second act went on, and the expectations grew, when you’re talking about an MVP quarterback and you’re going 14 and two in the regular season, or 13 and four in the regular season, and you’re the consensus best team in football at the end of the regular season, and you have one AFC title game appearance over that stretch. Yeah, it’s going to feel lacking to people. So with all that being said, I think, you know, it’s not shocking in the sense that both sides could sit down have some tough talks. Steve bashati in the organization want to get rid of Todd monkin or whoever, whatever else. Staffing change. There were going to be some staffing changes. We knew that you and I talked about how you couldn’t fathom the idea of them bringing back Zach Orr after what happened on Sunday night, on top of everything else, but John might not have felt. Felt John might have felt a certain way about hey, you know, like we’re not going to do this coordinator thing again. You know if, if you’re not comfortable with my staff, then maybe we need to have a different conversation here. And that’s far more conceivable for an 18th year head coach than fifth year head coach. Back in 2000 December of 2012 and you end up getting the outcome we have here. But if you’re the ravens, you know you’re hoping that your next head coach is as successful as John Harbaugh and is as successful as Brian Billick. They both, both of them brought a trophy to Baltimore. And go back to what Brian said years ago. They’ll try to take it away from you, but it happened, and you deserve that credit, and anyone who has half a head on them will appreciate that, maybe not right now, but as time goes on, they’ll look back at that fondly, perception,

Nestor Aparicio  30:58

say, as time will go on, they’ll forget about you.

Luke Jones  31:02

I think the perception, no, it’s funny, but in all reality, I think the perception of Brian Billick has aged very favorably. You know, from where it was, I hoped, I hope so for him. And in the same way, I think 10 years from now, people, even people that have been critical of John for a decade now, we’ll look back and say, oh yeah.

Nestor Aparicio  31:22

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Well, he goes to the Giants and wins two Super Bowls with this kid the next six years, maybe, right? I mean, you know, who knows?

Luke Jones  31:28

And what does, what do the Ravens do in the meantime, right? I mean, like, who knows? I mean, it’s, that’s what makes this one. That’s why, you know, I threw the Molotov cocktail in our first segment, where I said, What if John winds up in Cleveland and he turns the Browns around. I mean, he still could, I think it’d be, I think it’d be nuts for him to go there. I mean, just with Jimmy Haslam,

Nestor Aparicio  31:47

they might think more alike than you think.

Luke Jones  31:50

Maybe they do and make and and, you know, what might be the biggest factor if they throw $20 million a year at him, which, you know, would be more than he was making in Baltimore based on, you know, reporting and all that. So we’re gonna find out. It’s gonna be fascinating.

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Nestor Aparicio  32:03

John Harbaugh’s about to break the bank and we’re about to hire a new coach. Luke Jones is here. It’s all brought to my friends at the Maryland lottery. Have the candy cane cash our friends at GBMC as well for keeping me alive. Appreciate that. I’ve got a doctor’s appointment. Remind I’m way. I’m finger wagging all of you people like me that don’t listen to your doctors or wives or your better conscience, go get yourself checked out. Gbmcs around the corner. They’re all over the community. I’m gonna be talking more about that, also talking to my friends at Coppin State as well. Want to throw them a shout out as well. We’ve been having a good time around here. Is the turn of the year. We had a lot of crab cakes, and now we have purple football drama. So we will continue to discuss this at length. I’m going to be writing a Dear Steve bishodi letter. It’s going to be spicy, because that’s what happens when you know the owner tries to take away your career and throws you out of the ballpark and everybody goes hiding in places, and the culture change of all of this. So, yeah, yeah, change is here. It’s inevitable. We’re W, N, S T am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We never stop talking Baltimore positive and who’s going to be the next coach? I don’t know what.