The Los Angeles Chargers and Baltimore Ravens faced off on “Monday Night Football,” meaning that for the first time since the 2014 season, we had a Harbaugh Bowl. Jim Harbaugh returned to the NFL this season as head coach of the Chargers, while John has been the head coach of the Ravens since 2008.
We saw these two face off before.when Jim was head coach of the San Francisco 49ers from 2011 to 2014. They faced off in the first sibling head coaching battle in the NFL in Super Bowl XLVIII, and it was John who went home victorious at the time. .
The stakes Monday night weren’t as high as they were a decade ago, but Jim had a chance to get revenge on his older brother.
The two respect and love each other, as they have emphasized over the years, both with words and by showing up for each other at important moments in their lives, such as when John attended Michigan’s national championship game. They would do anything for each other, except one thing: let them win a football game.
Before the game, the brothers discussed what it means to go against each other, praised each other and made some jokes.
“I love my brother. I would give my life for my brother, but I wouldn’t let him win a football game,” Jim said, smiling. “And he wouldn’t want it that way. He just feels great. Ready to do it.”
John also spoke before the matchup, explaining why it would be difficult to face Jim, given how highly he ranks him as a person and as a coach.
“Well, there’s all the things we love about each other, then there’s all the things we know about each other that we have to overcome in a game like this,” John said. “He’s a great coach, a great man, a great leader and he has a great football team, so that makes it complicated.”
When the schedule was released and they realized they would meet in Week 12, John said facing Jim was “very meaningful.”
“We both support each other, we both support each other all the time, and yet we compete with each other.”
As expected, the brothers hugged each other on the field after Baltimore’s 30-23 victory.
“I just told him you’re a great coach and you have a great team. And I love you,” John Harbaugh said when asked what the two said. “He said, ‘I love you and congratulations.'”
