Open Letter to Eric DeCosta, Steve Bisciotti, and John Harbaugh

By Diego Aguilar

The Baltimore Ravens are 1-4. This is the team’s worst start in years.

And you know what? There’s a culprit, and he must be called out: John Harbaugh.

Harbaugh has been in charge of this team for 18 years. And yes, 13 years ago, he won a ring.

But… did he really win it?

That championship was built on Joe Flacco — the best playoff run by any Baltimore player in franchise history (yes, Joe Flacco’s).

With Ray Lewis as the heart and soul of that defense, and Ed Reed looking to close out his career with the ring that had always eluded him.

John Harbaugh has always been praised for his ability to build culture.

And these 18 years in Baltimore prove it: the Ravens are one of only three franchises that have never had a No. 1 overall pick, and they’ve long been a model of consistency, identity, and smart drafting.

But today, that culture is crumbling.

And Harbaugh is responsible.

The clearest example of his poor coaching came this very week — Thursday Night Football, Week 5.

San Francisco, with as many or even more key injuries — All-Pros and Pro Bowlers included — went toe-to-toe with the NFC-contending Rams and beat them.

Why? Because they’re a well-coached, well-executed team whose head coach never loses the tactical battle.

John Harbaugh, on the other hand, always loses it.

The most alarming sign of this structural collapse is on defense.

From 2000 to 2024 — across 24 seasons — Baltimore ranked top 2 in the NFL in both points allowed per game and yards conceded per game.

In 2025, that same defense ranks 32nd in both categories.

The bottom of the abyss.

And meanwhile, Lamar Jackson is covering up a disaster.

He hides a dreadful offensive line and still, since 2019, the Ravens have averaged nearly 30 points per game.

Without him, the offense doesn’t move.

I remember a few years ago, a season when even without Lamar, the team still fought and left it all on the field every snap.

Today? That seems impossible. They don’t seem to believe — not in the team, not in the coach, not even in themselves.

Just as you failed to give Lamar Jackson a decent offensive line — or real receiving weapons until his fifth or sixth year —

today I ask you, Steve Bisciotti, Eric DeCosta, and John Harbaugh:

How much longer are you going to let a generational quarterback and his extraordinary talent go to waste?

Bisciotti, you’re the owner — it’s time to make decisions.

Eric DeCosta, everyone (myself included) recognizes you as one of the best general managers in the sport,

but you know what? Your complicity with Harbaugh has to end.

He can’t keep being the eternal protected figure of this organization.

And Harbaugh and Zach Orr — your cycle is over.

John, I’ll always thank you for how happy you made me that night of Super Bowl XLVII against the San Francisco 49ers.

And Zach, you were one of the most hard-nosed undrafted players in this defense in recent years.

But you both keep coming up short when it comes to the Xs and Os.

Another example of poor management lies on defense.

In 2023, Mike Macdonald was the defensive coordinator, and Baltimore achieved the defensive triple crown — leading the NFL in points allowed, sacks, and takeaways.

The first time in history a defense had ever done that.

It was the natural generational shift… but John Harbaugh stayed,

and Mike Macdonald left for Seattle as head coach.

The result?

Seattle now boasts one of the league’s top defenses — with a roster less talented and complete than many others.

Meanwhile, the current Ravens defense is on pace to become the first in history to allow 600 points in a season.

A historic collapse.

And one last stat — maybe the most devastating of all:

the Ravens’ 2000 championship defense allowed 165 points all season.

The 2025 defense has already allowed 177… and we’re only in Week 5.

If Harbaugh can’t turn this around — or if he isn’t fired — he’ll be remembered as the coach who wasted the most atypical, electric, and special talent ever to step on a football field:

Lamar Demeatrice Jackson.

Harbaugh’s problem is cultural. Structural.

The play-calling is terrible, the team is poorly coached, and they keep shooting themselves in the foot.

Since 1991, no head coach has lost as many games after entering the fourth quarter with a lead of 10 points or more.

To borrow a soccer term… he’s a pecho frío — a cold-blooded choker.

Beyond the Super Bowl — which now seems impossible — even the playoffs look like a mirage.

Yes, the second half of the schedule is easier, but between injuries, tactical confusion, and a total loss of identity…

the Ravens are in crisis.

This season, the diagnosis is clear: a roster too talented to be wasted like this.

The Super Bowl window isn’t just closing — it’s practically shut.

It was win in 2023 or 2024. And they didn’t.

“Play Like a Raven” doesn’t mean anything anymore.

This organization is in such deep instability that it threatens to erase everything that once defined what it meant to be a Raven.