Welcome to Sports at Large. I’m Milton Kent.
Here’s a rhetorical question; If you hit the jackpot early on in your career, how long do you get to ride the wave before people expect you to strike gold again?
That thought came to mind late last week as news broke that the Ravens had extended coach John Harbaugh’s contract for three more years.
This came almost simultaneously as the Maryland women’s basketball team was bowing out of the NCAA tournament, with a 71-67 loss to South Carolina.
Now, on the surface, Harbaugh and Terps coach Brenda Frese don’t appear to have that much in common. They’re of different genders. They coach their genders and in different sports, no less.
But look more closely and there are similarities. Harbaugh and Frese are charismatic leaders in high profile, high pressure positions.
And they’ve been remarkably successful in their respective posts.
Frese, for example, has led Maryland to 12 Sweet 16s, seven Elite 8 appearances, three trips to the Final Four and a national championship. She’s won 77 percent of her games in her 26 seasons as a coach overall and 78 percent of games in 23 years at College Park.
Harbaugh, meanwhile, is the all-time franchise leader in coaching wins, going 185-115 in 17 seasons in Baltimore.
Under his tutelage, the Ravens have won six division titles and gone to the playoffs 12 times. No one in Charm City will ever forget that Harbaugh led the football birds to one of their two Super Bowl titles.
But Harbaugh and Frese also have this in common: It’s been quite a while since either of them climbed the proverbial mountain of their respective sports.
Next season will mark 20 years since the Maryland women won their one and only NCAA title.
The Terps, under Frese, have made the NCAA tournament field 15 straight times and 21 times overall in her time in College Park. But the last of those Final Four berths came 10 years ago.
Meanwhile, Harbaugh’s Vince Lombardi trophy came in the 2012 season, 13 years ago.
The Ravens have not reached the Super Bowl since 2012 and have only advanced to the AFC championship twice under Harbaugh. In the 13 years since that championship, the Ravens have failed to win more than one playoff game in any season and Harbaugh’s postseason record stands at 13-11.
Perhaps that’s why the word of Harbaugh’s contract extension came as such a surprise, not to mention its length. His deal was due to expire at the end of the coming season.
Clearly and understandably, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti didn’t want to spend the rest of the year answering questions about Harbaugh’s potential lame duck status. But there are several fans who might wonder if a year or two more for the coach might not have been more appropriate.
Brenda Frese and John Harbaugh have reached the heights of their profession and will stroll into their respective Halls of Fame someday.
But in this what-have-you-done for me lately sports world we live in, that stroll might be a little uncomfortable until one trophy is joined by another.
And that’s how I see it for this week. You can reach us via email with your questions and comments at Sports at Large at gmail.com. And follow me on Threads, BlueSky and X at Sports at Large.
Until next week, for all of us here and for producer Lisa Morgan, I’m Milton Kent. Thanks for listening and enjoy the games.