You can't really blame John Harbaugh.
The fired Baltimore Ravens head coach had a chance at a $100 million contract to coach the New York Giants, a storied if recently messy franchise. It's hard to turn that down.
But there could be a bit of regret sinking in on Monday.
The Buffalo Bills fired head coach Sean McDermott. Someone will get the chance to coach a Super Bowl contender led by superstar quarterback Josh Allen.
And it won't be Harbaugh, or another prime candidate, Kevin Stefanski, who has already taken the head coach job with the Atlanta Falcons.
MORE: Why Bills had no choice but to fire Sean McDermott
It's a quirk of timing in the NFL hiring process that couldn't really be changed but potentially works out well for no one in this case.
The Ravens didn't make the playoffs, and Harbaugh was dismissed a few days after the regular season ended.
Meanwhile, the Bills made it to the second weekend of the playoffs, so even if they wanted to fire McDermott all along, they couldn't do it until a dozen days after Harbaugh was fired.
In the meantime, a bunch of teams with head coach openings were trying to fill them.
The Bills couldn't really tell Harbaugh to wait for them, because if they had made the Super Bowl and potentially won it, there'd be no way McDermott was gone.
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Harbaugh could've gambled and hoped patience was a virtue, but that'd risk giving up a $100 million opportunity.
In the end, he likely won't regret things too heavily. A nine-figure contract cures most ailments.
But man, imagine what could've been.
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