Maxwell Kruger-USA TODAY Sports
When it comes to quality coaches across professional sports, few are as likeable as John Harbaugh is these days. After four seasons of steady improvement and playoff berths, Harbaugh finally got the Baltimore Ravens over the hump this season as they triumphed over a San Francisco 49ers team that was favored in Super Bowl XLVII over two months ago.
Harbaugh competed in the Mid-Atlantic Tough Mudder event last weekend, which is a 10-12 mile obstacle course through mud designed by British Special Forces. By the end of the course you are covered in mud and your intestinal fortitude has no doubt been challenged.
Harbaugh embodied his team’s never say die attitude as he completed the course and showed his own personal toughness. There were times when Harbaugh was visibly in a bit of distress, but his positivity and glass half-full mentality never waned.
Harbaugh’s demeanor over the course of the Tough Mudder also embodied the type of person and coach he is. He may get heated over the course of a game, but he is always supportive and positive backing his players every step of the way. Unlike some of the icier coaches in the game like Bill Belichick and brother Jim Harbaugh, John is always seen in his players’ arms and is absolutely adored by his players. His positive and supportive, yet straight forward nature makes him any players’ dream coach.
Harbaugh’s positive attitude is amazing for a football coach, but his head-coaching resume also speaks for itself. Harbaugh is the only coach since the merger in 1970 to win a playoff game in each of his first four seasons, then upped his own record by winning a playoff game (and a couple more) this year in his fifth season.
Overall Harbaugh is 54-26 during the regular season and 9-4 in the playoffs, as he has become one of the top coaches in the NFL today. Seeing him hold up the Lombardi Trophy was well-deserved as his style of coaching works both in the locker room and on the field.
Few other coaches in pro sports, let alone the NFL, would even attempt to compete in the grueling challenge the Tough Mudder presents, but that is what separates Harbaugh from his peers. Seeing him covered in mud, yet still smiling and helping others through the course only further endears him to players and fans alike as he has become one of the most likeable coaches pro sports has to offer. Harbaugh is one of the easiest coaches to root for these days and his performance in the Tough Mudder event further cements that sentiment.
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