Is John Harbaugh the #1 coaching option in #NFL right now? 2X Champion Rob Ninkovich joins! Was Ninko surprised by move by Baltimore? Did Harbaugh and Lamar Jackson "need to separate”?
00:00They bring in Vrabel, they correct the error.
00:03Outside of drafting Tom Brady at $199 and trading for Bill Belichick,
00:09that decision is the third biggest decision in the history of this franchise.
00:16Everything else relied on Robert Kraft owning the pet project that he had made to give Mayo this job,
00:23realizing it was too soon or he never deserved it in the first place, whichever,
00:27and finding and paying Mike Vrabel at the top of the market.
00:32Secondarily, what my initial lead was going to be,
00:35how look at what he did when Bill Belichick wanted Jimmy G over Tom.
00:40When Bill Belichick and Brady weren't getting along in the second half of the dynasty,
00:43he negotiated with Brady directly with those contracts and kept those guys together for 20 years.
00:50Lamar Jackson and John Harbaugh haven't even gone to a Super Bowl
00:53and Bishotti was unable to keep them together for nine years.
00:58We do not thank Kraft enough for that ability, although it ended, but everything ends poorly.
01:04We always know how to enter. We don't know how to exit.
01:06But that entire sort of ability that he showed at the end of last year
01:11and what he did and Bishotti was unable to do with the great coach and quarterback deserve our praise.
01:16So, I wanted to get your thoughts on Curtis' lead this morning,
01:20and we do our leads at about 6.20 every morning
01:24and share with you what we think might be key talking points for the day.
01:30Curtis, I don't need to summarize, but basically,
01:33the firing of John Harbaugh has you thinking about Robert Kraft
01:39and that we need to give him some flowers on the way he has handled things here.
01:44Yes, the offseason, Kraft won by firing Mayo in a way that was going to be embarrassing for him.
01:52He owned it, paid Mayo to do nothing, and paid Brable to come.
01:55And this firing last night really, to me, crystallizes the work Kraft did for 20 years
02:02to keep a great quarterback and a great coach on the same page despite ups and downs.
02:07I mean, it was a great 20-year run, but just like anything,
02:11I know people that were best friends with somebody and they were together for too long
02:15and they just needed to separate.
02:16There's people that have been married for a long time and they had to separate.
02:20Is that the case, you think, with Harbaugh and Lamar Jackson?
02:23I think there probably is a growth aspect of Lamar as a player and individual
02:32that when you come into the league and you're a young guy, I don't think, I mean,
02:38the Lamar wear a grill on the sideline as a rookie, like, you know,
02:43now he's paid and he's established and he, you know, he does, he's kind of like,
02:47hey, I'm paid, I'm established, I'm going to be myself and do what I want
02:50as opposed to when you're young.
02:52You kind of have to do what the coach is telling you to do
02:56and you're trying to do things right by the coaches.
02:57But what's the song?
03:00Wait till I get my money right.
03:01You can't tell me nothing right.
03:03I mean, that's what happens to players and I've seen it.
03:06I've seen the transition of players and, I mean, Tua, look at Tua.
03:09We were talking about, you guys were talking about Tua.
03:11You know, Tua, the way he's acting and his attitude is completely different now
03:16than it was before.
03:17Well, they gave him $250 million.
03:19So he can do that.
03:21So I think the Harbaugh...
03:22But can you play back up you doing those things?
03:24And I think Lamar's play has been able to back it up.
03:27I see the only thing I think Lamar's missing is a signature playoff win.
03:35Yes.
03:35Which he hasn't done.
03:36I agree with that.
03:37And in big moments, unfortunately, he's been injured.
03:40Right.
03:40Like, you can't help being injured.
03:42But he's also, you know, when I used to work at the other,
03:46at the network, I don't really want to talk about because they're annoying.
03:49Um, and Cam, a guy we were talking about earlier as well, you know,
03:55he's the Stephen A effect.
03:56You know what the Stephen A effect is?
03:58No.
03:58You feel like the louder you are, the more splash you're going to make.
04:02So the whole, that whole thing is just from Stephen A, you know,
04:05screaming, yelling, you know, all that stuff.
04:09So when I look at Lamar's signature wins, I don't see it.
04:15Right.
04:15Right.
04:15I don't see that.
04:16I agree with that.
04:16And now if you're Harbaugh, you're the number one coaching candidate right now.
04:22Yes.
04:22You just got fired and all these other teams are seeking you.
04:27Right.
04:27And I think as of right now, he's the hottest candidate.
04:31And why is that though?
04:32It's because of Lamar.
04:34Because here, after.
04:35Oh my God.
04:36He made it to a Super Bowl with Joe.
04:38Wiggy.
04:39It's not because of Lamar.
04:40Here's the facts.
04:41If anything, Lamar has brought him back.
04:42Let me give you the facts.
04:45Let me give you the facts.
04:46After that Super Bowl win, four out of the next five years, he did not make the playoffs until he got Lamar Jackson.
04:56For the next five years, when he was the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, after that Super Bowl win,
05:02they did not make the playoffs until he got Lamar Jackson.
05:08And I believe that was 2018.
05:11And Lamar's first year where he made it to the playoffs.
05:14And Lamar only played in seven games, but he was six and one.
05:17And it was like his rookie year or something like that.
05:21It was very like new to him.
05:22But for those next five years, he only made the playoff once.
05:27Is Lamar Jackson the only reason?
05:30True, false.
05:31This is too Wiggy.
05:32Uh-huh.
05:32Is Lamar Jackson and Harbaugh, his success as a head coach, only linked to Lamar?
05:40No, no, no, no.
05:40I'm saying he had that run beforehand.
05:42But I'm saying after that Super Bowl run.
05:44But he got there, and he won a playoff game in each of the first five seasons ending with the Super Bowl.
05:50After that Super Bowl run, next year, 8-8.
05:53The following year, they did make the postseason.
05:56And they won a playoff game.
05:56Yeah, the following year, 5-11.
05:59The following year, 8-8, no playoffs.
06:01The following year, 9-7, no playoffs.
06:03Then they get Lamar in 2018, and then he goes back to the playoffs.
06:07And he's been in the playoffs ever since they got Lamar.
06:09I would be cautious to go to Baltimore if I was another coach.
06:14And the reason I say that, you know, you remember the Price is Right, and they had the guy walking.
06:19Yola, yola, yola, yola, yola, yola.
06:22He's walking up, and all of a sudden, bang, you crash.
06:25I think Lamar's taking way too many hits long term.
06:28You know, he's not a pocket quarterback.
06:31And he is a mobile guy that's always going to take hits.
06:33No matter what, at the end of the day, when things break down, what's he doing?
06:37He's looking to get out.
06:38And he's looking to move, extend the play, throw down the field like we saw in the last game.
06:43Great player.
06:44But when you do that, you expose yourself to hits.
06:47And if you look at the amount of times he's been hit, it's up there with running backs career-wise.
06:53And he's taking big hits.
06:55Most of his injuries have come when he's been in the pocket.
06:58But would his job be more difficult as he has to be less of a runner and more of a thrower?
07:03And that's going to require the work that it appears he's not been willing to put in?
07:06No, no, no.
07:06I think that Lamar has – and I wasn't a huge Lamar fan when he first got into the NFL.
07:11Shine will tell you this because I think I was on – at that point in time was Dale and I don't remember who it was.
07:16Eddie.
07:16And I wasn't –
07:17Dale and Keith, you and I would fight about it all the time.
07:19Yeah, I wasn't a huge Lamar fan.
07:21And I thought all he did was run.
07:22He became a better pocket passer.
07:25He uses his legs to be able to obviously add another element.
07:29But he does a good job of protecting himself when he does run.
07:33The problem, I think, with Baltimore, and this is where it comes down on Harbaugh, is they've never had the right offensive coordinator to be the guy that can say,
07:46all right, I can get Lamar that signature win in the postseason.
07:51Maybe that's a Lamar problem.
07:53It's Todd Munkin and Greg Roman.
07:55Rob's telling you Lamar needs to get the signature win.
07:58Why is it on the coordinator?
08:01Lamar has to get it.
08:02But why do we give Drake May all the success in the world?
08:05It's because you have the right offensive coordinator.
08:08But he's 23.
08:09We give him all the success right now because he's in his second year.
08:12But look at Baker Mayfield.
08:14The problem with Baker Mayfield was until he got the right offensive coordinator that could call the right game plan.
08:21We talk about that all the time.
08:23How important an offensive coordinator.
08:25You literally are basically saying that Harbaugh without Lamar Jackson is not a good coach.
08:30There are every team, every team with an opening and some that don't have that want him immediately.
08:36But I've never said he wasn't a good coach.
08:38I said after that Super Bowl win with Joe Flacco, the next four out of five years, he didn't make the postseason.
08:44He did not make the postseason.
08:46I'll ask you this question.
08:47Okay.
08:48Lamar gets a new head coach.
08:50I don't know who that guy is, but let's just say whatever coach X and Harbaugh goes to not Buffalo, but he goes to an organization without that Lamar Jackson caliber quarterback, Cleveland, Atlanta, take your pick.
09:05Who's more likely to be successful and go further?
09:09I think new coach Lamar versus Harbaugh.
09:14I think Harbaugh.
09:15Same.
09:16Based on that article.
09:17I said it earlier.
09:18But Curtis keeps bringing up the article, and it's a great point.
09:21If he's not willing to put the work in or if he's –
09:24But that's cap, though.
09:25It's not.
09:26It is.
09:26That has never been an issue.
09:28That is such a –
09:29But I'm just saying, when you were playing with Tom Brady, you said Bill held Tom Brady to the highest level.
09:34He held everybody accountable.
09:35Okay.
09:35So if you can't hold your quarterback to the highest level, then that trickles down to the rest of –
09:42But you believe that, though.
09:43I do believe the article.
09:44So this is what I'm saying.
09:45Until this point of when this article came out a couple weeks ago, we had never heard anything negative about Lamar Jackson as not going – falling asleep in meetings.
09:59Coming in out of shape.
10:01At the end of every season, Wiggy, there are stories that come out with a bunch of things you didn't hear.
10:06We've never heard anything about Lamar.
10:07And I would also add –
10:08So if you're going to say John Harbaugh's to blame for the fact that they went four out of five years without making the playoffs after the Super Bowl,
10:15what about Bill Belichick going three straight years without winning a playoff game?
10:19Right.
10:19Like, did you say he couldn't coach anymore?
10:21No, but I say he needs that quarterback.
10:24But he had Tom Brady in nine and ten.
10:25He had the MVP and lost the playoff game.
10:27Until he got – no, but I'm saying he never missed the playoffs.
10:31He did 0-8.
10:32Wiggy, they moved –
10:34Wiggy, the entire team had to move their practices to the afternoon because he couldn't get out of bed.
10:42Greg, that's a lie.
10:43Stop it.
10:44You believe that?
10:45You know who I blame?
10:46Who's that?
10:47The massage table.
10:49I said this earlier.
10:50Yeah, because they needed a veteran kicker to make that kick.
Be the first to comment