John Harbaugh and Bill Belichick: Two Personalities, One Result
Jan 20, 2013; Foxboro, MA, USA; Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh (right) is congratulated by New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick (left) after the Ravens defeated the Patriots 28-13 in the AFC championship game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Baltimore Ravens fans loathe Bill Belichick. New England Patriots fans don’t much care for John Harbaugh. Yet the two coaches themselves think highly of one another and rightly so. They are, after all, the two best head coaches in the NFL.
Perhaps you remember the story of Belichick calling Steve Bisciotti to recommend Harbaugh (if you don’t remember, the Baltimore Sun has you covered). The level of respect between these two coaches is enormous, as it should be.
The irony in this is their styles, the very essence of their coaching, are light years apart.
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John Harbaugh is an encourager, an overwhelmingly positive force for both his players and his coaching staff. Yes, Harbaugh will shout his lungs off if pushed, but he will always follow that with positive reinforcement. Between his happy-go-lucky, uninformative press conferences and overwhelming confidence to go for it on fourth down, every Raven knows they have Harbaugh’s faith. This is part of the reason for the team’s resounding ability to overcome adversity.
The same is true for his coaching staff. Harbaugh is not known as an X’s and O’s guy, but rather as a leader of men. Accordingly, Harbaugh makes a point to bring in highly regarded coordinators and position coaches, even if they have big personalities.
In a master stroke, Harbaugh convinced Rex Ryan to stay on for one more year in 2008, despite Ryan’s desire to be the Ravens head coach himself. He brought in Cam Cameron, then a highly respect coordinator, to groom Joe Flacco. He brought in former head coaches Jim Zorn and Jim Caldwell to continue to groom Flacco. He brought in former Patriots defensive coordinator Dean Pees to lead his linebackers and eventually his defense. As soon as Gary Kubiak became a realistic option, Harbs jumped at the chance. The list goes on.
Harbaugh collects great coaching minds the way the Oakland Raiders collect great 40 times, yet he always manages to keep the coaching staff on the same page. This was one of the main criticisms of former Ravens head coach Brian Billick, that he allowed the locker room to divide between offense and defense. Harbaugh has avoided this pitfall despite the disparate elements he continues to bring in.
This is a testament to Harbaugh’s incredible leadership.
Bill Belichick keeps a unified locker room in a very different way: He asserts himself as the boss and brings in coaches who fall in line. Belichick, among the greatest X’s and O’s coaches of all time, has a system in place and expects coordinators to accept it, which is why guys like Josh McDaniels and Eric Mangini have had such great success in New England and such failure elsewhere.
This is a testament to Belichick’s incredible brain.
Make no mistake, Belichick is a solid leader, and Harbaugh knows his X’s and O’s. But the way the execute their knowledge could not be more different, yet the results have been the same: constant winning.
These two guys are proof that there is no one right answer to what makes a great coach. Success comes in many forms, and both franchises are fortunate to have found their own distinct form with their own distinct coach.