Baltimore Ravens preview
Baltimore Ravens 2008 Preview ReportJuly 27, 2008
The time had come for a change. On the surface, canning Brian Billick after a 5-11 season seemed impetuous. After all, the longtime head coach had gone 13-3 the year before. But it wasn’t just about Billick.
Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti recognized that his franchise was in need of a cultural makeover. Although their record has mostly been strong, the Ravens haven’t been a surefire Super Bowl contender for several years. They’ve regularly toiled around nine and ten wins, sprinkling a clunky season in every so often. They live up to their potential some of the time. If the Ravens were a small market baseball team, this would be fine. But they’re an NFL franchise, and Bisciotti and company are in it for Lombardi Trophies.
Enter John Harbaugh. Forty-six, brother of Stanford head coach Jim and highly respected as a special teams mastermind the past 10 years in Philly. This is the man tasked with changing the culture in Baltimore. It’s a harder job than you think.
