

Yesterday, John Harbaugh — longtime head coach of the Baltimore Ravens — was fired, ending his 18-year tenure with the team. The decision came just two days after the Ravens finished the 2025 season with an 8-9 record, missing the playoffs following a 26-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 18, where a missed field goal as time expired cost them the AFC North title.
In the two days between the Ravens’ season ender and Harbaugh’s firing, Jason Whitlock, BlazeTV’s resident NFL expert, predicted this would happen. He argued the game-ending play — where star running back Derrick Henry sat the bench while Lamar Jackson took a knee, forcing the team’s rookie kicker to attempt (and miss) a field goal — was a “fireable offense” for Harbaugh.
One day later, the team issued an official statement, confirmed by owner Steve Bisciotti, that the longtime coach had been fired.
On this episode of “Fearless,” Whitlock addresses the shocking news and explains the broader implications.
“[Harbaugh] and Lamar Jackson popularized the whole RPO offense that has overtaken the National Football League,” Whitlock says, calling the dynamic duo “the face of the run-pass option offense.”
“And this is the thanks [Harbaugh] gets? He gets fired because ... Tyler Loop misses a kick? He gets fired ... in a year where Lamar Jackson was injured and missed 4 to 5, 6 games?” he asks, stunned.
Whitlock says that according to reports he’s read, “The split wasn’t about John Harbaugh; it was about John Harbaugh’s loyalty to Todd Monken, the offensive coordinator.” Apparently, the Ravens wanted to fire Monken, but Harbaugh refused.
“According to the reports, Lamar Jackson had no problem ... with John Harbaugh. His problem was with the OC,” Whitlock explains.
The next layer of Harbaugh’s firing is even more important, however.
“Harbaugh getting fired puts incredible pressure on [Pittsburgh Steelers head coach] Mike Tomlin,” Whitlock says.
“If John Harbaugh can get fired with that record and what he and Lamar Jackson have brought to the forefront with the RPO offense, Mike Tomlin has to be on the clock — has to be.”
“The pressure now switches to Tomlin,” he says, referring to the Steelers’ upcoming playoff game against the Houston Texans.
“The pressure on Mike Tomlin is now intensified incredibly. How is Mike Tomlin going to survive if he loses to the Houston Texans? If you can fire John Harbaugh, you can fire anybody,” he says.
To hear more of Whitlock’s analysis, watch the episode above.
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