A Tale of Two Brothers: The Harbowl

Examining Jim and John Harbaugh

Dan O'Brien

Photo Credit: theshadowleague.com

Let's face it: the NFL has lost a bit of its luster. Perhaps it is the ridiculous contracts or just the slowing down of the game to make it safer, but there is something about it that lacks the energy it had more than a decade ago. When the only thing we can point to for drama in the game is a late field goal for a win, I think it is time to reevaluate what it is about the game that makes it so enticing. Frothing-at-the-mouth fans tune into the NFL to watch a game that challenges the perseverance and the strength of the human condition, both physically and mentally. I am not going to turn this into a tirade about why distilling the game to a final kick in the final seconds has damaged the league (I will leave that to Skip Bayless), but instead talk about what drew fans to football in the first place: smash-mouth football. 

The Harbowl, as it is affectionately being called, is a return to a much older time in football, better times in the opinion of many fans and analysts .Strong defenses unwilling to give up an inch and a run game that keeps linebackers and defensive backs honest. The Baltimore Ravens have been this kind of team with Ray Lewis as an emotional and physically impressive centerpiece since he walked on the field. Over the past two seasons, the 49ers have emerged from the ashes to become a defensive stalwart and a truly impressive offensive presence. This Brother's Bowl has rejuvenated a love of football for many fans, creating a dramatic stage that has been painfully absent over the past couple of seasons. My inclination is that the threat of a Brother Bowl might lurk long after the final moments tick off the clock in New Orleans this Sunday. 

John Harbaugh

Photo Credit: fox59.com

Following nearly a decade in Philadelphia as a Special Teams coordinator and then working with the secondary and safeties in his final year (2007), John's coaching career really started at Western Michigan University in 1984 as the running backs and outside linebacker's coach in 1984. From 1988 until 2006, John was the man behind the Special Teams, an interesting career path of a coach in the Super Bowl. There has been a lot of talk recently of NFL head coaches who spent time as Special Teams coordinators and the value that front offices might place on that in the head coaching selection process. Looking at John's record, there might be something to that. 

As coach of the Baltimore Ravens, his all-time record of 80-54 (a .675 winning percentage) is quite impressive. The worst record he has carried as head coach was 9-7 in 2009, which was the last time they did not win their division. Going into the Super Bowl, he is 8-4 in playoff games, though he has yet to hoist the coveted Lombardi trophy. 

Jim Harbaugh

Photo Credit: usatoday.com

The turnaround in San Francisco was intense and dramatic and is due to the personality of its coaching staff heralded most prominently by Jim Harbaugh. He has been referred to as a player's coach and I imagine this comes from his time spent on the field doing precisely what he expects of his player's every time they step on the field. There is a mantra that I live by and it has served me pretty well: do not demand something of someone else that you are unwilling to do. Jim Harbaugh has stood in the pocket and taken a hit from Ray Lewis and can demand that toughness of his own players. 

Drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1987 (26th overall), Jim would spend the next 13 years as a quarterback in the NFL. He would not remain with Chicago, spending time in Indianapolis, Baltimore, and San Diego before retiring in 2000. He only posted two winning seasons as a pro quarterback and that was with the Chicago Bears in 1990 and 1991. His journey as a coach began at Western Kentucky in 1994 and then was highlighted by his time at Stanford. It is the radical change in philosophy that we saw transitioning from Mike Singletary to Harbaugh that speaks to his tenacity on and off the field. In only two years as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, Jim was one game away from a Super Bowl and now coaching in one. He has helped create a football culture in San Francisco that is reminiscent of the Bill Walsh days. San Franciscans have a team to cheer for once again, and they have Jim Harbaugh to thank for it. 

Opinion Time

Who do I think is the better coach? 

This is a tough call. What I would look to in determining this is an upward trajectory in terms of team play. John  made a risky move in bringing on Jim Caldwell to call the offense and it helped propel the Ravens into the Super Bowl. Jim created a stir in San Francisco by benching Alex Smith and starting Colin Kaepernick in his place: this turned out pretty well. If I had to choose one, then I would go with Jim because of the sudden transformation of the 49ers without changing any other piece other than him taking the helm. Jim Harbaugh essentially used the pieces that had been left behind from a sub .500 team the year before and made them a team to be feared in a division that was roundly dismissed until the 49ers started crushing teams and the Seahawks became the upstarts of the league. 

The larger point that looms is that one Harbaugh brother is going to win a Super Bowl and one of them is going to have to watch his brother lift the Lombardi trophy above his head. The novelty of a Harbaugh winning a Super Bowl regardless of who wins is a special moment in NFL history. A conference for Jim and John's parents best illustrates what it means to experience crushing defeat and overwhelming joy in the same breath. 

More about the author: A psychologist, author, philosopher, freelance editor, and skeptic, Dan O’Brien has published several novels and currently has many in print, including: The End of the World Playlist, Bitten, The Journey, The Ocean and the Hourglass, The Portent, The Path of the Fallen, Book of Seth, and Cerulean Dreams.

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Our Pacific Northwest

Our Pacific Northwest


After Pondering the NFL, Kelly Decides to Remain on the Pond

The Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles, and other GMs around the NFL tried to entice college football’s top head-coaching prize, but despite their courtship, Oregon University head football coach Chip Kelley told the Oregon Press yesterday he will indeed lead the quack-attack for another season. The news is greatly rejoiced not only among the Duck faithful, who have seen their squad partake in four straight BCS games, but college football gets to keep one its most brilliant and enduring coaches for at least another season. According to the Register-Guard, Kelley already claims the highest winning percentage in modern OU football history, amassing 46 victories in the last four seasons with only seven losses. With the return of Kelly, as well as the return of quarterback Marcus Marriota, running back DeAnthony Thomas, tight end Colt Lyerla, and other notable players, the Ducks will likely start their 2013 campaign where they finished this season, ranked in the top five of the AP poll. The Pacific Northwest will be excited to watch the Duck’s run the Pac-12 gauntlet in order to claim a highly elusive national championship birth once again.

From the Empirical Archives: The Carousel by Dan O'Brien and Olav Bryant Smith

The Carousel: The NFL's Dark Carnival

Dan O'Brien and Olav Bryant Smith

PHOTO: John Martinez Pavliga

Original Published in the June 2012 Issue of Empirical

Joe Montana, Brett Favre, and now Peyton Manning.

For the majority of their careers, these three quarterbacks were synonymous with the cities they carried on their backs every Sunday–through sunny skies and inclement weather. The other thing these hall-of-famers–and all future hall-of-famers–have in common is finishing out bright, record-breaking careers anywhere other than where they had hung their helmets for a decade or more. Some of us who are old enough to remember Joe Montana donning a Kansas City Chiefs’ jersey wonder what the football gods were thinking. The same feeling came when Brett Favre departed from Green Bay–making way for a talented young quarterback–and jumped from the Jets to the Vikings as though he was climbing aboard porcelain horses, faded and greasy, at some mind-bending circus.

A fan imitates the praying posture that Tebow took whenever he reached the endzone. Now, Tebow has been traded to the Jets to compete with Mark Sanchez for playing time.
PHOTO: Alan Light

The house of mirrors that was the quarterback sweepstakes of 2012 was more than a key party gone awry. Teams took gambles, some with untested young quarterbacks–Matt Flynn based on one outstanding game–and others with the future of a coach-quarterback relationship that seemed cemented in stone (Alex Smith and Jim Harbaugh). The landscape of the NFL is a microcosm blown into a kaleidoscope of shifting emotions and personalities that have grown identities all their own.

PHOTO: Matt Martin/Wikimedia Commons

Many of the colors of the current kaleidoscope began to reveal themselves with the decision by the Indianapolis Colts not to re-sign future hall-of-fame quarterback Peyton Manning. Faced with paying Manning (who has undergone four neck surgeries) a $28 million dollar bonus after a season where the team had gone 2-14 in his absence, the Colts opted to seize the opportunity created by the horrible record to draft their possible future franchise quarterback instead. With this decision, a number of quarterbacks who previously thought they were comfortable in their own situations were in the hot seat. The NFL quarterback carousel was turning.

PHOTO: Sharon Chapman

It must be understood that Manning is not just another quarterback. Quarterbacks are often measured in rings acquired, trophies hoisted above their heads, but in the case of Peyton Manning, we need to think critically about being a leader–a coach–on the field. What separates Manning from other quarterbacks–especially for readers who might not be familiar with him–is that athleticism and accuracy are not what make him a great quarterback, but instead his Zen-like philosophy on the field. His intelligence and adaptability is unique among active players at that position. The classic image of Manning is of his coming to the line, assessing the defense arrayed against him, spotting a weakness, and directing his offense on how to attack that vulnerability. He has been more often successful in this than not.

Manning's agent quickly set up visits with other interested teams, and the NFL world watched to see where Manning would go. When it was learned that the San Francisco 49er coaches went in secret to become players in the Manning contest, their presumed quarterback Alex Smith (who had just led his team to the NFC Championship for the first time in many years) was so frustrated by being in the shadow of a potential trade that he visited the Dolphins in pursuit of a new deal for himself. No quarterback, striving as they are to be the undisputed leaders of their respective teams, wants to feel expendable. With Manning on the move, and the carousel turning, the real truth of expendability for a number of these quarterbacks was revealed.

Now Peyton Manning, he of consistency and decade-long loyalty to the Indianapolis Colts, will be donning a Broncos' jersey heading into a season where Tim Tebow had been heralded as the face of the Denver franchise. When we consider how Peyton Manning felt, being shuffled about after a tumultuous season during which he had yet another neck surgery, how does knowing that the NFL is a game predicted on business impact quarterback loyalty to a team?

In light of the media frenzy that was Tebow-mania, this was a startling move. Elevated to starting quarterback mid-season, and leading a then 1-4 team through a first-round playoff win, Tebow earned a certain amount of qualified respect amongst players and coaches. Many fans, and especially Denver Bronco fans, were looking forward to seeing if the Tebow magic would continue next season. With the availability of the phenomenal Manning, however, the would-be hero (Tebow) was swept aside.

PHOTO: Chris Staley

Interestingly enough, it was the New York Jets and the vociferous Rex Ryan who bit and grabbed a player that, in many ways, is a good fit. The Jets have a strong defense–much like the Broncos who used a strong defensive presence to offset offensive failures through three quarters of football–and an offense that likes being physical, perhaps more physical than incumbent quarterback Mark Sanchez is comfortable with. "I'm excited to e here. I'm excited to be a Jet," as espoused by a smiling Tebow amidst a press conference for an alleged back-up quarterback, speaks volumes about what the move to New York means for a team that has struggled to live up to the boisterous expectations of Rex Ryan. How excited is the Jets starting quarterback Mark Sanchez, we wonder, after watching what happened to Kyle Orton (who lost his starting job to Tebow) in Denver? We find ourselves imagining Sanchez sitting in an expensive hotel suite and, upon hearing the news, tossing a double-pump caramel macchiato across his room while sending chairs and tables (overflowing with free merchandise) hurtling to the ground.

What about the press conference for Manning? We seem to recall some photos and stills with Manning holding up a jersey, but no quotes that are traded as comically as Tebow's "I'm excited to be here." In comparison, Manning's arrival in Denver was a quiet affair. But while most quarterbacks are defined by the system of offense they play in or the coaching staff that supports their every move, this is not the case for Manning, who shines regardless of coaching. And this should be most apparent in his first season with the Broncos if he is, in fact, healthy.

So was courting Manning worth the trouble? Denver certainly thinks so as they inked a ninety-six million dollar contract with the star, post neck surgeries. What about the Cardinals? Does Kevin Kolb feel the same sense of commitment and loyalty to a team that would slough him off like so much dead skin if Manning had cleared his throat in their direction? Certainly it would have improved a team with a deep threat like Larry Fitzgerald, but is the anxiety going into the season worth the risk? Does Alex Smith's scare and flirtation with the Dolphins present the possibility of on-field issues for the 49ers next season? Did watching Manning throw passes on the field of the team Matt Hasselbeck is supposed to be a leader of damage Hasselbeck's relationship with his team and coaches next season? Only time will tell.

In the end, though, we are interested in the question of whether or not Manning's flight from Indianapolis was predicated on his being a victim, pushed out as expendable by a greedy franchise, or if it was his desire to be the unquestioned captain of the ship combined with his demand for a risky $28 million dollar bonus that started this dark carnival and carousel turning? Where does the darkness lie? Or is there a bit of darkness to be shared by all sides–the yin and yang of football?

PHOTO: Noel Feans

There is a temptation to see the Colts as the bad guys and Manning as the good guy, but can we really make such a claim? Andrew Luck, who may be, technically and mechanically, a similar quarterback to Manning (without the valuable edge of maturity and experience)–might become the new face of a franchise that was tied so strongly to Manning’s emotional and psychological identity. If the case should be made that football is a metaphor for life and the journey of the self, can we not then imagine a strange but more ideal version of reality where an icon of the game, like Manning, would stick around and mentor a burgeoning quarterback like Luck? Should we not believe that love of the game transcends a bonus that was promised? 

Manning arrived in Denver as a well-paid mercenary. It is true that he is currently the expected savior–a knight in shining armor. But his introduction in Denver did not give us the sense that Manning was thrilled to be there. On the flipside, we have Tim Tebow, a young man who exudes love of the game in lieu of paychecks, smiling about being included on a team that would have him, even as a back-up, not charging for tickets to ride. 

We, in part, want to view this from a distance, to say that these players are paid (or overpaid) vast sums of money to participate in a sport they love and that they have played since being a small child running around with a bucket on their heads. But, as fans, many of us get caught up in the heroic fantasy of their roles in the NFL, and we want to see this heroism bound together with loyalty to a cause, a city, and a people. 

In the end, however, despite how many cameras we shove in their faces, or billboards we erect with their images, these heroes of the gridiron are just people who are, in most ways, like the rest of us. 

The worship of idols by adoring fans, and the belief they are on safe footing, creates egos built on statistics and money instead of dynasties and loyalty to those fans. Manning’s release from the Colts seems to reveal a lack of commitment and loyalty on both sides. Fame and ridiculously high pay scales turn men who love the game into men who talk about themselves in the third-person. On the other hand, Manning was clearly crushed when his demands were not met by the team he had personified for so long. 

Psychological vulnerability is muted, but not discarded, when one reaches the upper echelons of superstardom. While stars titillate and capture the emotions of a captive audience, they appear to be invulnerable and immortal gods experiencing the height of success and happiness. But when the NFL carousel begins to turn, we glimpse the momentary revelation of the humanity of carnival clowns–replete with painted smiling faces and traces of usually well-hidden tears.—Written by Empirical editors Dan O’Brien and Olav Bryant Smith.

PHOTO: Paula Beehner

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