John Harbaugh was among the many coaches fired on Black Monday after the NFL regular season ended post-Week 18. While insider reports indicated his alleged fallout with Lamar Jackson contributed to the Ravens' decision, the team has talked to another NFL coach who was fired on the same day.

On Friday, the Ravens announced they completed an interview with former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski.

Stefanski boasts two playoff appearances and Coach of the Year awards in his six-year tenure with the Browns. However, his career record with Cleveland stands at 46-58. The last two seasons were especially tough with the Browns being marred by injuries, poor trades, tension within the management, and media scrutiny. 

That is why many franchise owners don’t hold Kevin Stefanski accountable entirely. Stefanski remains a well-respected figure in the league, with multiple offers coming his way.

Apart from the Ravens, he has already been interviewed by the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders. He is expected to appear for the Tennessee Titans, too. Meanwhile, the Browns have shown interest in John Harbaugh.

Yet, what really happened between the former Ravens HC and Lamar Jackson?

Baltimore ended the 2025-26 regular season with an 8-9 record, and Jackson's absence for a chunk of the season due to injuries contributed to the rough patch.

Lamar’s completion rate stood at 63.9 per cent, his career’s second lowest, and he threw only 21 touchdowns. His injury cannot be blamed on Harbaugh, unlike the tension between the two.

According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, Jackson and Harbaugh were not aligned, and their disagreements affected the locker room.

“Now, it started, it sounded like to me, with Harbaugh and Lamar Jackson not being on the same page. It continued throughout the locker room. Maybe not 100 percent, but more than enough for the Baltimore Ravens to say that among the reasons to move on, this was a big one," said Rapoport.

“At the end, players just simply had doubts about whether or not they wanted to play for him as their head coach. The opinions of players was valued here. It was listened to. It went to all levels. And it’s not just Lamar Jackson," added the analyst.

Harbaugh spent 18 years with the Ravens, but his 180-113 record couldn’t compensate for only one Lombardi Trophy despite several playoff appearances.

Written by

Akanksha Biradar

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi