Baltimore Ravens extend head coach John Harbaugh for one year

CINCINNATI, OH - JANUARY 3: Head coach John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens on the sidelines during the second quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on January 3, 2016 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andrew Weber/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - JANUARY 3: Head coach John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens on the sidelines during the second quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on January 3, 2016 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andrew Weber/Getty Images) /
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The Baltimore Ravens have extended head coach John Harbaugh for one year. His contract will now end after the 2019 NFL season.

The Baltimore Ravens have extended head coach John Harbaugh for one year, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport on Twitter.

Harbaugh’s contract was initially set to expire after the 2018 season, however with this extension, he will now be with the Baltimore Ravens through the 2019 season.

In nine seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, Harbaugh has a Super Bowl win as well as a solid 85-59 record with the team, however the team has missed the playoffs three times in the past four years, going 31-33 since their Super Bowl win, which has lead to some questions about Harbaugh’s job security.

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We wrote shortly after the Ravens’ loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers about how important Harbaugh is to the Ravens as a team, and it’s good to see the team recognize that and give him some breathing room on his contract.

Despite their record over the past four years, Harbaugh is still 10th among active coaches in winning percentage, and behind only Bill Belichick, Mike McCarthy, and Mike Tomlin in total wins.

Since the Ravens came to Baltimore in 1996, Harbaugh is just the third coach the team has had, along with Brian Billick who lead the team to a Super Bowl win in 2000, and Ted Marchibroda.

While the Ravens have been difficult to watch the past few years, they’ve made some key offseason personnel moves that have put the team in a good position to win. The team had one of the better defenses in football last year and added to that this offseason, with the addition of safety Tony Jefferson and cornerback Brandon Carr.

The biggest weakness the Ravens had last year was on offense, and while they lost receiver Steve Smith to retirement and Kamar Aiken to free agency, they added Jeremy Maclin, who should be a solid number one receiver in their offense. Not only that, but they added running back Danny Woodhead, who should complement Terrance West well in a receiving back role.

Next: 4 Potential Breakout Candidates for the Ravens in 2017

John Harbaugh is one of the biggest keys to this Baltimore Ravens squad, and now he’ll be with the team at least one more year, and hopefully for many more successful years to come.