Bill Belichick Speaks From Experience On John Harbaugh Leaving Ravens

Bill Belichick’s 24-year tenure with the New England Patriots is the third-longest head coach tenure in NFL history.

Seventh on that list is now ex-Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin with 19 seasons, followed by freshly hired New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh, who was fired two weeks ago after 18 years with the Baltimore Ravens.

Unlike Tomlin, Belichick and Harbaugh were both, in as many words, fired from their head coaching position after a lengthy and successful career.

The ex-Patriots coach offered his two cents on Harbaugh’s unique situation.

“It’s always a tough situation,” Belichick said on Sirius XM’s “Let’s Go.” “Steve Bisciotti is a great owner. John Harbaugh is a great coach. They had a great run together. Sometimes it’s just time.”

Harbaugh was fired on Tuesday, Jan. 6, and after just eight short days of unemployment, the Super Bowl-winning head coach reportedly accepted a job with the New York Giants.

Belichick declined to speculate on the mysterious circumstances that led to Harbaugh’s firing, but failing to meet the expectations you helped create is a dilemma that Belichick is uniquely familiar with.

“They’ll both move on to a lot of success,” Belichick said. “But sometimes those decisions have to be made… It’s a very competitive league. There’s a lot of pressure to perform well. Ultimately, the owners have to make the decisions as to what they feel is best for their franchise and everyone else…

“We all have to live with those decisions.”