How Lamar Jackson, Ravens Players Reportedly Felt About John Harbaugh Before Firing

John Harbaugh reportedly "lost the locker room" before the Baltimore Ravens announced they fired him Tuesday.

"It is not just they didn't go far enough in the playoffs," NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported. "My understanding, after talking to several sources involved, is simply that Harbaugh lost the locker room. At the end, players just simply had doubts about whether or not they wanted to play for him as their head coach. 

"The opinion of players was valued here, it was listened to, it went to all levels. It is not just Lamar Jackson. Now, it started, it sounded like to me, with Harbaugh and Lamar Jackson not being on the same page. And it continued throughout the locker room. Maybe not 100 percent, but more than enough for the Baltimore Ravens to say among the reasons to move on, this was a big one."

The relationship between Harbaugh and Jackson was a major focal point during the stretch run of the regular season, and it reached a point the head coach had to publicly deny there was any strain.

For his part, Jackson didn't exactly answer the question following Sunday's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers when asked if he wanted Harbaugh to return in 2026:

Even if Jackson was ready for a coaching change, Rapoport's report makes it clear he wasn't the only one.

Harbaugh was the head coach in Baltimore for 18 years. That is a significantly long time in the NFL, and perhaps things did become somewhat stale. It likely didn't help, either, that the Ravens are 3-5 in Jackson's eight playoff starts and haven't returned to the Super Bowl since winning the Lombardi Trophy during the 2012 campaign.

NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported team owner Steve Bisciotti was "frustrated" with the "lack of playoff success in recent years."

That combined with feeling among the players that Harbaugh lost the locker room makes a coaching change feel like something of an inevitability in hindsight, even if Tuesday's move was surprising given how long he was on the sidelines.

In all, Harbaugh went 180-113 with 12 playoff appearances and a Super Bowl title during his 18 seasons. That is an incredible level of success even if there were a number of early postseason exits, and Ravens fans will surely remember his tenure fondly when looking back on it.

But some players might not, at least given the latest reporting about the situation.