John Harbaugh was one of the longest-tenured coaches in the NFL heading into this season, which was his 18th as the Baltimore Ravens' head coach. Well, after a disappointing season that saw Baltimore go from a Super Bowl favorite to a team that lost, 26-24, to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a win-and-in playoff scenario because of a missed field goal at the end of the game, the tenure of Harbaugh is over in Baltimore. The Ravens organization fired Harbaugh on Tuesday. In eighteen seasons, Harbaugh had 180 wins and 113 losses and was the winningest coach in Ravens franchise history. While his tenure is over in Baltimore, Harbaugh definitely has his share of suitors ready to speak with him, as reports have surfaced that multiple teams have reached out to Harbaugh’s agent. But where does he land? That is the question everyone is wondering: where he will land next and who has reached out to his agent. Some Tennessee Titans fans hope the Titans are among the teams trying to lure him to their organization. And with what the organization has, it could be alluring to him.
The Titans have a young, talented quarterback in Cam Ward, who finished the season with 15 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. He got better as the season went on, and with his leadership skills and arm talent, he will only continue to improve. Couple Ward with some of the young weapons like wide receivers Chim Dike and Elic Ayomanor, along with young tight end Gunnar Helm, and a young nucleus is forming on the offensive side of the ball with the skill players. Harbaugh would have the chance to help nurture that young talent and could turn things around here quickly by adding more young talent through the draft.
Along with young talent on offense to grow, the Titans also have the best interior defensive lineman in football in Jeffery Simmons. This season, Simmons had eleven sacks and was a menace defensively for the Titans despite not having the best edge rushers around him. He faced double teams all season and still was a force. Also, the Titans have a young, talented linebacker in Cedric Gray and some veteran leadership in the secondary with safety Amani Hooker. Add in young, talented safety Kevin Winston Jr., and there are some intriguing pieces on the defensive side of the ball as well in Tennessee.
But along with the talented pieces on both sides of the ball, the Titans also have over $100 million in salary cap space to help infuse talent into the Titans' roster. Adding a pass rusher, some cornerbacks, or potentially a running back or wide receiver in free agency would not be as hard, given the type of money available to Mike Borgonzi.
As far as what Harbaugh would bring to the Titans, he would give them playoff experience at the head coach position that many available candidates do not have. The Titans don’t have much playoff experience on this roster, and with Harbaugh, he could help guide them in understanding what it takes to win big games.
But while there are some good things about Harbaugh, there are also things he has done that do not make sense, and one notable example was the decision he made recently in a game against New England. Harbaugh did not give the ball to star running back Derrick Henry during the final two possessions in a close game versus the New England Patriots. The Ravens would lose that game 28-24, and plenty would question what Harbaugh was thinking in that moment. Harbaugh gave a response to the media, but there was no getting over the decision, which made little sense to anyone who listened.
The decision for Harbaugh will eventually come, but with what Tennessee has to build upon, the Titans should not be counted out of the running for Harbaugh.