Will Ravens fire John Harbaugh? 3 reasons Baltimore coach isn't on hot seat after 1-2 start

A close Week 1 loss to the Chiefs didn't do much to erase the optimism surrounding the Ravens, but a Week 2 collapse against the Raiders at home sounded alarm bells. 

Baltimore has a history of struggling to hold sizable leads in recent years, and a lifeless finish against Las Vegas brought all of those concerns right back for a team that has championship expectations.

Ravens fans saw both sides of the coin in Week 3. Baltimore got off to a dominant start against the Cowboys but nearly saw it all slip away in the second half. The Ravens were able to hold on, but pressure is building on coach John Harbaugh to shape his team into one that can compete for an AFC title.

Is Harbaugh on the hot seat? Here's a look at why it's hard to believe the Ravens would make a coaching change in 2024.

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Why the Ravens won't fire John Harbaugh

Track record of success

Harbaugh has endured just two losing seasons in 16 years as the Ravens' head coach, making the playoffs 11 times and winning a Super Bowl. That kind of sustained success isn't easy to achieve, and betting on another coach maintaining it isn't a safe bet in an ultra-competitive division.

Harbaugh has already proven he can reinvent the wheel a bit, overcoming hot seat questions in 2018 by surging to the playoffs with a rookie Lamar Jackson and staving off any more hot seat speculation with four playoff appearances in the following five years.

A championship is the ultimate goal for the Ravens, and it's possible a conversation about Harbaugh's future could be had if Baltimore misses the playoffs entirely. After winning 13 games and coming within a win of the Super Bowl last season, though, there just hasn't been enough losing in the Ravens' recent history to justify a coaching change.

MORE: How the Bills, Ravens landed the best QBs from the 2018 NFL Draft class

New defensive staff still settling in

If there's one reason not to panic over a slow start this season, it's the reality that most of the Ravens' defensive coaching staff turned over after last season.

Not only did the Ravens lose defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, but defensive line coach Anthony Weaver and DBs coach Dennard Wilson both left for coordinator roles. That's a significant amount of talent to replace on the sideline, and it's naturally going to take some time to get the defense back to where it was in 2023.

Baltimore's new DC is 32-year-old Zach Orr, who spent 2023 as an inside linebackers coach, and the replacements for both Weaver and Wilson came from the college ranks.

On the other side of the ball, the Ravens lost their offensive line coach when Joe D'Alessandris passed away in August. With a much younger offensive line than the Ravens are accustomed to, it's no surprise that the project is taking a bit longer than expected.

MORE: Is Lamar Jackson or Dak Prescott under more pressure to win Super Bowl?

Ownership loyalty

Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti has proven to be quite loyal, for better or worse. He stuck by Harbaugh when fans were calling for his job in 2017 and 2018, and Baltimore has a strong track record of extending their standout young players. 

The Ravens even infamously kept RB Ray Rice on the team after a domestic violence arrest, until they were left with virtually no choice when video of the incident surfaced.

Bisciotti isn't too quick to move on from what he's comfortable with, and it certainly seems he's changed his mindset a bit since firing coach Brian Billick one year removed from a 13-3 season in 2007 — otherwise Harbaugh likely would've been ousted in 2017 after three consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance.

MORE: Why Mark Andrews is staying patient after quiet start

John Harbaugh coaching record