Baltimore Ravens can join Michigan as champions, and the same qualities make both teams 'special'

Michigan Wolverines football head coach Jim Harbaugh can now sit at the big people’s table at family gatherings, he said after winning the national championship. His older brother, John Harbaugh, the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, beat him in the 2012 Super Bowl, and his father, Jack Harbaugh, won the 2002 Division I-AA national championship as Western Kentucky’s head coach. Now, John has the opportunity to win yet another title, with his Ravens set to clash with the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship game Sunday in Baltimore.

Jim and John are the only set of brothers to have combined to coach college and pro champions.

John and his group are winning with a very similar style to Michigan, and it’s not hard to figure why. The Wolverines, actually, have adopted a Ravens-style defense over the last three seasons, and both teams have long been dominant running the football on offense.

“The first thing that stands out — and it’s a big picture — it’s just Baltimore, to me, is the most complete, most dominant football team still alive,” analyst Todd McShay said on the ‘Ryen Russillo Podcast.’

“And Baltimore didn’t play always the smoothest, crispest offensive football. [Quarterback] Lamar [Jackson] only threw for 152, but he rushed for 100.”

Similarly, Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy combined to throw for 361 yards with 3 touchdowns in two College Football Playoff victories — over Alabama (221, 3 scores) and Washington (140 yards, no touchdowns).

Michigan brought in Mike Macdonald, formerly the Ravens’ linebackers coach, as its defensive coordinator in 2021, before he was plucked back by Baltimore to lead its defense. Jesse Minter, who just wrapped up his second season as Michigan’s D.C., also spent four seasons with the Ravens from 2017-20.

“The biggest thing, to me, honestly, when you talk about flying to the football, their depth, versatility, strength, toughness, discipline along the defensive front seven is unmatched,” McShay said.

“We talked about San Fran, how great they were in talent and how in years past they’ve been special in terms of pass rush. Well, it wasn’t there in this past game and it needs to be there if they’re going to beat Detroit [in the NFC championship game].

“To me, front seven defense is so critical right now at this level. You gotta get pressure, you gotta take these great quarterbacks off their spot, you gotta harass them. And Baltimore did that.”

Michigan did that in the playoffs, too, with 6 sacks against Alabama and 1 versus Washington but a whole lot of pressure applied on quarterback Michael Penix Jr., the Heisman Trophy runner up. Penix, who limped off the field after the game, threw for 5 yards per pass on average and tossed 2 interceptions.

Baltimore won the AFC North for the first time since 2019, earning a first-round bye, before dismantling a hot Houston Texans team quarterbacked by rookie and former Ohio State star C.J. Stroud, 34-10. Stroud averaged just 5.3 yards per pass, and the offense scored just three points (the special teams scored on a punt return). Macdonald is now 3-0 against the quarterback, having beaten him in 2021 at Michigan (42-27) and in Week 1 of this season (25-9).

The balance of the Baltimore defense stands out to McShay, and reminds him of Michigan.

“They’ve got a bunch of dudes — whether old or young, high draft picks, low draft picks — that fit what they want to do,” McShay said. “They all fit versatile roles.

“I go back to this: I remember talking after the Ohio State game, after the semifinal and after the national championship about what made Michigan special on the defensive side, and it feels like I’m having the same exact conversation, and it’s not a coincidence. Mike Macdonald was at Baltimore for a while, took the D.C. job at Michigan, built what they currently have, and Minter has done a great job of expanding upon it.

“But it’s versatile guys who are tough, strong, can wear multiple hats and believe in a system that is really schemed up and asks a lot of you from down to down and provides different looks for the quarterback.

“And obviously, Mike Macdonald comes back as the D.C. the last couple years, and there’s no star. We’re not talking about a Bosa [Joey or Nick, with the Los Angeles Chargers and San Francisco 49ers, respectively], we’re not talking about a No. 1 or No. 2 or No. 3 overall pick. We’re talking about a bunch of dudes that play great together. And that defensive front seven, to me, is the story for Baltimore.”

It was the story for Michigan, and could be one that carries Baltimore even further on its run toward the franchise’s third-ever Super Bowl.