Sports is often described as the ultimate meritocracy. Your success or failure on your surface of choice is largely based on what you can do, not on who you know.
Yes, there are occasional external factors that may come into play, but overwhelmingly, if you can run or skate faster, shoot better or hit the ball further, your chances of surviving and thriving are higher than a competitor who doesn’t.
The same largely holds true for coaching. The man or woman who devises the best schemes usually achieves more than their opponents, though having a lot of playing talent doesn’t hurt.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh and his brother, Jim, who coaches the Los Angeles Chargers, are among the best at their profession.
In 16 years in Baltimore, John has won more games than all but two active coaches during that span and guided the Ravens to a Super Bowl win. And Jim Harbaugh led his alma mater, the University of Michigan, to a national championship two years ago.
Clearly, the Harbaugh boys are blessed with considerable coaching acumen. They are proven leaders of men, possessing the ability to motivate their charges to win on the big stage.
What they might not have in such great abundance is the ability to read a room or to care about who sees them in that room.
The brothers Harbaugh were guests at the White House last Thursday and were photographed with Donald Trump in the Oval Office, with John standing right behind Trump, smiling broadly, with his younger brother to his left.
Given the American political climate and Trump’s polarizing effect on a large segment of the populace, there are those who might wonder why the Harbaughs would want to be seen in that space in this time with that president.
Indeed, during Trump’s first term, he said players who knelt during the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner should be fired and referred to them singularly as a quote son of a bitch unquote.
Colin Kaepernick, the quarterback that led Jim Harbaugh’s San Francisco 49ers into a Super Bowl 47 loss against the Ravens, was the player at the vanguard of that movement and was effectively drummed out of the NFL because of it.
But besides being a meritocracy, sports also consist of a series of marriages of convenience where people whose paths would never otherwise cross are thrown together for a common purpose: winning.
Among other skills, a good coach manages to persuade men and women who might fundamentally disagree on the biggest issues of the day to channel that anger at the person or persons on the other sideline.
That John Harbaugh has mostly kept his conservative political views out of a locker room that has many players who are at the opposite side of the aisle and molded the Ravens into a consistent winner is a tribute to his talent as a leader.
Still, John Harbaugh should expect to be asked about his Washington photo session and perhaps from his most important audience: his players. How he answers will speak volumes.
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 BlueSky, Threads 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.
