To this point in the NFL head coach hiring cycle, we’ve had the NFL equivalent of openings at Bowling Green (Cleveland), Marshall (Arizona) and Cal (Tennessee). There are openings at blueblood programs that have fallen on hard times and appeal as reclamation projects (Giants) and openings at strange technical schools that may or may not actually be accredited universities and are likely run by a consortium of shady tech barons as a tax shelter (Raiders, obviously).
But on Tuesday, the Ravens shattered the low, white noise hum of this carousel by firing John Harbaugh after 18 seasons in Baltimore. The Super Bowl–winning coach creates a vacancy at a perennial contender with a top-five quarterback in the NFL under center. The Ravens have a top GM in the NFL and a front office that regularly outpaces the league in finding an edge. An enviable organizational model. A lineage of future head coaches longer than the Bill Parcells tree.
