John Harbaugh Embodies Coaching Manhood
Would you have walked (to the locker room) with Tyler Loop?
It was the biggest 5 seconds of Tyler’s athletic and professional life. The Baltimore Ravens’ rookie kicker stood poised on the field, ready to kick a game-ending 41-yard field goal that would not just win the game but send his team to the playoffs.
The pressure was the most intense that he’d ever faced. It was a makeable kick, but the weight was mega. The weight of a whole city, fan base, organization, and team. He expected another successful kick…
But he missed.
His head fell into his hands, and his heart sank into his gut.
Tyler Loop’s miss ended his team’s playoff bid and season. A superb rookie season and playoff hopes of the Baltimore Ravens were eclipsed by a single miss. Everyone knew these implications, but what about the personal ones, no doubt spinning through his head…
What would his view of himself be?
What would his life be?
What would his career be now, and in which NFL city?
What would be his relationship and reputation with his teammates and coach?
What would this offseason be like when fans saw him around the city?
What would the brutal walk to the locker room be like?
No one but Tyler Loop was aware of all these thoughts.
Except one other man. His head coach, John Harbaugh, who, as leader of the team and franchise, had just lost more than his kicker had lost. Within days, he would be fired because of this single sorry kick.
John then showed that he’s more than a Super Bowl football coach. He’s a coach of manhood.
Under the crush of painful handshakes, media interviews, and locker room team leadership responsibilities, John slowed down to come alongside Tyler and walk the full distance of the field and tunnels to the Ravens’ somber and angry locker room.
John was coaching a young man. Not football x’s and o’s. He was coaching a person in ways that go way beyond sports.
He was coaching coaches. He was coaching his other and future players. He was coaching a nation of rabid performance-based football fans.
What do you think Coach Harbaugh’s coaching example tells us about true manhood? Here are my takeaways from a distance:
• A man’s dignity and value matter more than his performance, despite huge consequences and the boos of any audience.
• Relationship precedes and transcends success and failure.
• Notice the one and invest where and when it’s most needed.
• Prepare men to face failure, grow resilience, and come back better.
• He showed confidence in Tyler and gave him confidence that “next time you’ll make that kick.”
• A man takes responsibility for the people he leads, putting concern for them over his own situation.
• And for all of us sports dads and sports fanatics: Keep sports in perspective.
By the way, this blog means nothing if we do not up our game as men in some way to make a change or two in the seven items above. Maybe it starts with getting around real good men who coach you, or vice versa.
PS. Coach Harbaugh was the prime coaching prospect for all seven other teams looking to hire head coaches and was just hired by the New York Giants. You can bet the Giants owners and players saw the clip of John choosing the long walk with his hand on Tyler Loop’s slumped back.
