John Harbaugh John Harbaugh ( born September 23 , 1962 ) is the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens . Before his assignment with the Ravens , Harbaugh coached the defensive backs for the Philadelphia Eagles and served as the Eagles special teams coach for nine years . Harbaugh and his younger brother , San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh , are the first pair of brothers to serve as head coaches in NFL history . Early years . Harbaugh graduated from Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor , Michigan , during which time his father , Jack , was an assistant under Bo Schembechler at the nearby University of Michigan . He played collegiate football for Miami University , where he was a defensive back . Coaching career . Harbaugh was first hired in the NFL in 1998 by Philadelphia Eagles then - head coach Ray Rhodes , and was one of four assistant coaches retained by new head coach Andy Reid in 1999 . Prior to that , Harbaugh spent time in the college ranks as an assistant at Indiana University ( 1997 ) , University of Cincinnati ( 1989 – 1996 ) , Morehead State University ( 1988 ) , and Western Michigan University ( 1984 – 1987 ) . In 2004 , Harbaugh was mentioned as a possible candidate to replace Gary Darnell as the head football coach at Western Michigan University . Harbaugh earned his master ' s degree from WMU and was an assistant football coach from 1984 – 1987 . In 2007 , after serving as a Special Teams Coach for 9 years , John was switched to Defensive Backs coach . Andy Reid did so in order to fulfill John ' s desire to obtain a head coaching position in the future , as special team coaches are rarely hired as head coaches . The move paid off the following year , as Harbaugh was announced as head coach of the Baltimore Ravens on January 19 , 2008 . Harbaugh only interviewed for the job after the first choice for the Ravens , Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett , turned them down , and was not considered a favorite to get the job . He impressed owner Steve Bisciotti and GM Ozzie Newsome and during the interview process , Bill Belichick called Bisciotti and recommended Harbaugh . This was enough to help Harbaugh make the relatively unusual jump from secondary coach to NFL head coach . On January 23 , 2008 , Harbaugh hired Cam Cameron to be the Ravens offensive coordinator . Cameron had originally hired Harbaugh as an assistant at Indiana University in 1997 . Cameron had also served as quarterbacks coach for John ' s brother Jim during their time at the University of Michigan . On September 7 , 2008 , Harbaugh coached the Ravens to a win over the Cincinnati Bengals in his head coaching debut . Until that point no team had ever won when a coach and a quarterback ( Joe Flacco ) were both making their NFL debut . On October 27 , 2008 , Harbaugh announced that the " Suggs package , " a two - quarterback offense featuring Joe Flacco and Troy Smith would be a viable option for the remainder of the 2008 season . In his rookie season as a head coach , Harbaugh guided the Ravens to an 11 – 5 regular season record , good enough to qualify them for the playoffs as a wild card team . In the playoffs , Harbaugh oversaw upset victories over the Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans before losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC championship game . On January 26 , 2009 , Harbaugh named Greg Mattison as the new defensive coordinator for the Ravens , replacing Rex Ryan , who had left to become head coach of the New York Jets . Mattison served as a linebacker coach and defensive coordinator for Harbaugh ' s father , Jack , at Western Michigan University from 1981 - 86 . While at WMU , Mattison also coached alongside Harbaugh , who was a graduate assistant and assistant coach for his father . In Harbaugh ' s second season as the Ravens ' head coach , he once again led the team to a playoff berth with a 9 - 7 record during the regular season . Harbaugh improved his playoff record to 3 - 1 with an upset victory over the New England Patriots in the AFC Wild Card round on January 10 , 2010 . He then lost the following week , bringing his record to 3 - 2 . In 2010 season , he once again went to the playoffs , beating the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card on January 9 , 2011 . However , he then lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Divisional round 31 - 24 on January 15 , after leading by 14 points in the beginning of the 2nd half . Harbaugh signed a three - year extension on February 14 , 2011 that will keep him under contract through 2014 . Harbaugh and his younger brother Jim met in Week 12 on Thanksgiving Day between the Ravens and San Francisco 49ers . John defeated Jim in the Thanksgiving matchup 16 - 6 . Harbaugh led the Ravens to a 12 - 4 record , winning the AFC North division and sweeping the Steelers . The Ravens lost in the AFC Championship Game to the New England Patriots after Lee Evans dropped the game - winning pass and kicker Billy Cundiff missed the potential game - tying field goal . Neither Evans nor Cundiff are on the 2012 53 - man roster . Coaching tree . NFL head coaches under whom Harbaugh has served : Assistant coaches under John Harbaugh who have become NFL head coaches : Family . Harbaugh ' s younger brother , Jim , a former NFL quarterback , is the head coach for the San Francisco 49ers . Their father , Jack , is a former head football coach at Western Michigan University and Western Kentucky University . John ' s sister , Joani , is married to Tom Crean , the head men ' s basketball coach at Indiana University . A lifelong Catholic , Harbaugh is married to Ingrid Harbaugh , a Lutheran , and they have one daughter .