SPORTS
January 22, 2012 | By Phil Sheridan, Inquirer Columnist
For those who believe the NFL is secretly as scripted as pro 'rassling, Sunday's games could provide the most suspicious story line imaginable. If things break right, the Super Bowl could feature the Harbaugh brothers coaching against each other in the city where one (Jim) played quarterback for four years, and in the state where their brother-in-law (Tom Crean) coaches the Indiana basketball team. It would be an upset for either brother to reach the Super Bowl in Indianapolis.
SPORTS
August 26, 1999 | By Phil Sheridan, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
When you grow up in a football family like the Harbaughs, you know in your very bones what it means when two teams line up for a punt or kickoff. Time to hit the fridge. "My dad's been a coach for all those years," John Harbaugh said. "He knows as well as anyone how important special teams are. But when he watches a game, he's just like everyone else. A punt means it's time to go get a drink or a snack. " John Harbaugh is the Eagles' special-teams coach. His brother Jim is an NFL quarterback currently playing in San Diego.
SPORTS
November 21, 2008 | By Ashley Fox INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
On this, the Eagles' players did not differ. John Harbaugh's tongue was legendary. In an instant, he could turn from that pleasant-looking, mild-mannered Midwestern guy into an unforgiving, tyrannical coach who neither spared feelings nor minced words. Any imperfection, big or little, from a missed assignment to questionable effort, would unleash the beast. Harbaugh, a former Eagles assistant, is in his first season as the Baltimore Ravens' head coach. "But we all mend," he said.
SPORTS
October 10, 1998 | By Marcia C. Smith, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Some Eagles still remember Washington Redskins kick returner Brian Mitchell shaking his fists, beating his chest, and taunting the team that couldn't stop him. Those 1995 and 1996 seasons, Mitchell and the Redskins' special teams crushed the Eagles play after play. It was humiliation that John Harbaugh, the Eagles' first-year special-teams coach, missed and has spent the week planning to dodge as the Eagles near tomorrow's game against the Redskins at Veterans Stadium. Harbaugh, the one hero on the Birds' coaching staff in a so-far winless season, has focused this week on getting his players to avoid careless penalties, adapt to injuries to returners Allen Rossum (concussion)
SPORTS
March 18, 2009 | By Bob Brookover INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Ravens coach and former Eagles special-teams coordinator John Harbaugh might be interested in giving free-agent tight end L.J. Smith a new start in Baltimore. Harbaugh, who took the Ravens to the AFC championship game in his first season as head coach, invited Smith for a visit Wednesday, and Smith said he accepted. The Baltimore Sun reported that a source said parameters of a one-year, $1.5 million deal are in place. Smith made $4.52 million last season as the Eagles' franchise player.
SPORTS
January 22, 2008 | By Bob Brookover INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
If John Harbaugh wants Pat Shurmur to be the offensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens, he has Andy Reid's permission. "Pat's been with me a long time, and if he has a chance to move on in that capacity, I'd welcome it for him," the Eagles' coach said yesterday after watching the North team practice at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in preparation for Saturday's Senior Bowl game. Harbaugh, who was hired as the Ravens' head coach Friday, did not make the trip to Mobile. According to a league source, he remained in Baltimore because he is trying to put together his coaching staff and is talking to Ravens assistants who worked for the fired Brian Billick.
SPORTS
January 16, 1999 | By Phil Sheridan, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
The men who coached the two bright spots in an otherwise dismal Eagles season will remain with the team. Special-teams coach John Harbaugh and running-backs coach Ted Williams will be on new head coach Andy Reid's staff, the Eagles announced yesterday. Reid will also retain Mike Wolf, the strength and conditioning coach who has managed to get the most out of the tiny weight room at Veterans Stadium. There was no announcement on a new defensive coordinator, perhaps the most important hire Reid will make.
SPORTS
August 24, 1998 | By Phil Gianficaro, FOR THE INQUIRER
When the Eagles play the Ravens in a preseason game at Baltimore tonight, Eagles special-teams coach John Harbaugh and his brother, Ravens quarterback Jim, are both hoping for a picture-perfect night. "If there's one thing I want from that game, it's a picture taken on the field with my brother," Jim Harbaugh said. "It'll be a proud moment, not only for us but for my mom and dad. " "Getting the opportunity to stand on the field next to my brother and have our picture taken as members of the NFL, well, that feeling will be beyond belief," John Harbaugh echoed.
SPORTS
July 26, 1998 | By Phil Sheridan, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
It was a big moment in the life of the Harbaugh family. The oldest son, John, announced that he had made an important decision. His mother, Jackie, couldn't wait to hear which law school he would attend. "That was her goal for John," said Jack Harbaugh, the patriarch of the clan and head coach at Western Kentucky. "He was going to be a lawyer and go into politics. When he told her he'd made up his mind and that he was going into coaching, his mother dropped her head onto the kitchen table and burst into tears as if she'd lost her son. " "My mom was a little disappointed," said John Harbaugh, whose momentous decision led him to his new job as the Eagles' special-teams coach.
SPORTS
February 28, 2010 | By Jeff McLane INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
While most of the NFL's coaches and general managers declined to discuss specific free agents for fear of being accused of tampering, John Harbaugh wasn't as tight-lipped. The Baltimore Ravens coach expressed his team's interest in two former Eagles, running back Brian Westbrook and wide receiver Terrell Owens. "To me, Brian Westbrook definitely has a lot left," said Harbaugh, a former Eagles assistant. "I think probably the Eagles know that, and everybody else knows it. He's going to have plenty of opportunities to play.