Tony Dungy Blasts Ravens’ Decision to Fire John Harbaugh

The John Harbaugh era in Baltimore is over after 18 years, and Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy is not happy about it.

On Tuesday, Ravens Owner Steve Bisciotti decided to part ways with the franchise’s longest-tenured coach after a full day of meetings that were reportedly both “honest” and “tough.”

The move came two days after Ravens kicker Tyler Loop missed a 44-yard field goal that, had he made it, would have won the AFC North and put the Ravens in the playoffs.

Dungy, who now serves as an NBC NFL analyst, was perplexed by the organization’s decision.

“I can’t believe what things have come to in the NFL,” Dungy wrote on X. “John Harbaugh has coached the Baltimore Ravens for 18 years. He took them to the playoffs 12 times. He won a Super Bowl for them. The last 4 years they were 10-7, 13-4, 12-5, 8-9. They made the playoffs 3 straight years and missed this year because their kicker missed the game-winning FG on the last play of the season. And he was fired???? I’m sorry, but I don’t understand. Good luck Baltimore in finding a better coach..”

Dungy’s passionate defense of Harbaugh could, in part, stem from his own similar experience in his first head-coaching gig with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Dungy led the Bucs to the playoffs four times in his six seasons, but was fired after two early Wild-Card Round exits.

Tampa replaced Dungy with Jon Gruden and won the Super Bowl the following year.

Dungy challenged the Ravens to “find a better coach” at the end of his post. Was Gruden “better” than Dungy when the Buccaneers hired him?

That’s very debatable.

Instead, it was more likely a case of needing a change, which is very similar to what happened in Baltimore.

Harbaugh was the second-longest-tenured coach in the NFL, behind his rival in Pittsburgh, Mike Tomlin. NFL Media’s Ian Rapaport reported on Tuesday that he had “lost” some of the players in the locker room. The Ravens have had excruciating ends to their seasons over the last three years: losing because of turnovers in the 2023 AFC Championship Game against the Chiefs, turnovers and a dropped pass against the Bills in the divisional round last year, and Loop’s missed field goal this year.

It’s not surprising that after multiple soul-crushing failures, the organization might want to hit the reset button.