An index card in Andy Reid’s office made lasting impression on Ravens’ John Harbaugh
John Harbaugh’s big break in the NFL came in 1998 when he was hired by Ray Rhodes as the Eagles’ special-teams coordinator.
But Harbaugh feared he wouldn’t last long in the league after the Eagles finished with a 3-13 record and Rhodes was fired.
It was then that he met Andy Reid, who had been hired as Rhodes’ replacement.
“Ray Rhodes brought me into the National Football League, can’t be more grateful,” Harbaugh told reporters Tuesday. “I mean, Ray Rhodes was great to be around for a year or two and if Ray is out there listening just thank you very much. I’m always appreciative of what I learned from Ray.
“And then Andy came in, and I was hoping to stay, and he gave me an opportunity to do it. And I was young and just figuring things out. So that was good. And hopefully he’s glad he did, looking back on it.”
That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Reid and Harbaugh have been close ever since, and they’ll undoubtedly have a nice conversation before Sunday’s AFC Championship Game. Reid has been the Chiefs coach since 2013, while Harbaugh was hired by the Ravens in 2008.
During their time in Philly, Harbaugh vividly remembers ... an index card.
“One of the things with Andy he had this 3 x 5 card behind his desk on his bulletin board,” Harbaugh said. “And it just said, ‘Don’t Judge.’ And I got the nerve to ask him about it one time and he just basically (said) it’s kind of a biblical principle. You know, take people where they’re at assume the best, try to communicate with everybody on equal terms and I’ve never forgot that.”
During their nearly decade together in Philadelphia, the Eagles advanced to four NFC Championship Games and made a Super Bowl appearance. That helped form a bond between the coaches who hope to guide their teams to this year’s Super Bowl.
“It’s a big deal in terms of relationship,” Harbaugh said of Reid. “It goes back a long, long, long way and utmost respect for Andy. Utmost appreciation for what he’s accomplished as a coach. We were together for 10 years, you know, the first 10 years there in Philly. And we were in a lot of championship games, a lot of playoff games. And I learned so much, you know, I just learned so much as a coach and as a person.
“Then competing against him now all these years has been really challenging. I mean Andy’s a great coach, he’s got a great staff. You name all the guys, Tom Melvin, Dave Toub, all the guys that have come through there that we knew from the Eagles. It’s just a very talented company people, and I have the utmost respect for him.”
More on the Chiefs
Here is more of what Harbaugh had to say about the Chiefs.
Thoughts on Sunday’s game
“We’re excited about it,” Harbaugh said. “We’re looking forward to it. It’s a huge challenge. Playing a great football team, very talented, very well coached, know how to win. They’ve been in these situations many times. I think they’ve been in the championship game, maybe this is their sixth time in a row. So they’ve been here before. It’ll be a big challenge for us. It’s our first time with this team and these guys, but we’re up for the challenge and we’re excited.”
Patrick Mahomes’ rushing
“I mean, you’ve got to factor it in,” Harbaugh said. “The fact that he extends plays, buys time. He buys time to run, sometimes buys time to throw. He’s just a really elusive guy. You’ll see him in space, sometimes he’ll make guys miss and all that. So, you know, it’s just Patrick Mahomes. He is unique, plays his own brand of football, been very successful. We’ll just have to study him and do our best to try to keep him under wraps.”
Mahomes’ ability to elude the rush
“He’s just got a great pocket presence,” Harbaugh said. “I think he sees the field and he feels the pocket. He must have you know, antenna that just kind of senses all that. Like your car, it’s got all its sensors and starts beeping when guys get close. Must be that way for him because he kind of senses the pressure and he’s able to just move around and get away but keep his eyes downfield, slip out of all those kinds of thing. Just what he does. Everybody that watches football knows it. It’s just one of his gifts, so we’re gonna have to really study it, be good at defending it. I do like our guys’ chances. We’ve got a lot of really good athletes, a lot of guys who play hard, so we’ll just try to make it as hard on him as we can.”
On the Chiefs running attack
“Yeah, they run the ball really well, they’ll come out with three or four kind of game-plan runs, certain ways,” Harbaugh said. “Nothing that you haven’t seen before, but they dial in on something that they try to exploit. And then No. 10, (Isiah) Pacheco, man, the guy’s coming downhill. He’s hitting it that way all out. He’s 225 pounds, his knees are up high, he’s just rolling. It’s gonna be a big challenge for us to deal with him because he’s as physical a runner as there is in the league. He’s as determined as there is and we’re going to have to be a physical determined defense to tackle him. And I like our guys’ chances. I think our guys will be up for it. And we’re gonna have to because he’s a good runner.”
