Jack and Jackie Harbaugh were in Baltimore last week when the topic of the upcoming "HarBowl" between John Harbaugh's Ravens and brother Jim Harbaugh's Chargers came up.

They've been down this road twice before and the same emotions were bubbling up.

The first was in 2011, when the Ravens beat Jim's then San Francisco 49ers, 16-6, on Thanksgiving in Baltimore. Then there was the ultimate, Super Bowl XLVII, when John's Ravens again prevailed, 34-31, in New Orleans.

"We're thinking, you know, here we go again," Jack said on "The Lounge" podcast this week. "It was good and it wasn't so good. But we knew what it was about."

Last week in Baltimore, John gave his father a piece of advice on how to handle the emotions this time around.

"He said, 'Dad, this is not for the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl was an ending,'" Jack said. "'There was going to be a Super Bowl championship. There would be someone that didn't win it. In this game, it's a game and both teams are still challenging for playoff position. So it doesn't quite have the magnitude that the Super Bowl had.'

"And you know what? I shook my head. Once again, I learned something from John that made me a little bit wiser and a little bit more comfortable."

Jack and Jackie Harbaugh will not be traveling to Los Angeles for "Monday Night Football." They'll be flying the other direction to Florida to be with their daughter Joani, son-in-law Tom Crean, and their two grandchildren.

Part of the reason is because that's also where they plan to celebrate Thanksgiving the following Thursday. With the Ravens and Chargers both playing the following Sunday, they're in full in-season preparations mode.

Jack and Jackie have visited Jim and his family in California for a couple of games. They were in Baltimore for the Ravens' big "Sunday Night Football" win over the Bills in late September. Now it's time to visit their daughter.

"We are choosing to go down there and celebrate Thanksgiving with them and be able to watch the game with them," Jack said. "And we'll have a lot of fun and enjoyment doing that."

Monday night's game also falls directly on Jack and Jackie's 63rd wedding anniversary, which is at the front of Jack's mind when reflecting on his sons' journeys. Long ago, Jackie took over being the "head coach" of the family and their children while Jack was the head coach of his football teams.

Asked why success has followed his sons wherever they've coached, Jack said, "Thank God for moms."

"Just go right back to Jackie. She was the head coach of them and still is," Jack said. "They've had me around, but she's been around them 14, 15, 16 hours a day when they were growing up.

"Back in 1957 in that biology class, I looked down into row number one in that class and four years later we were married. That was the decision that changed my life. ... We're just so blessed that Jackie's with us and she's still the head coach of the Harbaugh family."

The only problem they'll have on their anniversary is that they'll be watching the game on one TV. When they're at home in Ann Arbor, Mich., they watch on separate TVs. Jack goes to the basement because he watches in silence, analyzing the game with the perspective of a coach. Jackie is a bit more … animated.

"If you're here watching a football game, that would be a best seller in any venue you'd want to watch it in," Jack joked. "I mean, officials can't officiate, balls can't take a good bounce."

Starting this Monday morning, the Harbaugh family paused all communication. Total silence. Jack isn't watching any of their football tape this week to offer tips if called upon, like he usually does. He's Switzerland.

While he's not feeling the same nerves he was during Super Bowl XLVII, Jack anticipates that will change Monday night.

"I'm sure it'll be about the way it was in the Super Bowl. My nerves were good until kickoff," Jack said. "Once the ball was kicked off and then all at once, your body goes into a different mode – one of absolutely nothing that you can do personally to affect the outcome, but you're emotionally charged to be a part of it and to see how it all comes together.

"I'm a total fan. And I'm going to watch and enjoy a great competition."