Harbaugh Has Worn Same Gameday Pants For Two Years
What's up with the weird fascination America has with the Harbaugh brothers and their pants?
Go ahead and Google "Jim Harbaugh Walmart pants." You'll get 293 "news" results.
Jim's wife revealed last week that the 49ers head coach wears $8 pleated khakis from the large retail corporation, and she refused to take blame for the look many playfully ridicule.
And now there's this breaking news about John Harbaugh's pants.
Turns out he has been wearing the same black pants on the field for two years, according to The Baltimore Sun. Here he is modeling those suckers with a full leg extension.
Harbaugh wore the pants in the Super Bowl last year, and kept wearing them throughout the 8-8 2013 season. And just so we don't get another Harbaugh wife calling into a radio station to have her name cleared from her husband's wardrobe choices, it's important to note Ingrid is not responsible for John's gameday ensemble.
"For game day, he wears what the game day equipment manager puts in his office," Ravens Senior Vice President of Public and Community Relations Kevin Byrne told The Sun. Apparently all coaches get fitted for pants in the spring.
Are they from Walmart?
"They're bought locally," Byrne said. "We're not going to say what company it is, but it's a local tailor."
Oooh, the intrigue.
Why The Need For Second OC Interviews?
It appears we're down to three finalists for the Ravens' offensive coordinator vacancy.
By the time the day is up, three candidates will have had a second interview: Ravens Wide Receivers Coach Jim Hostler, former Washington Redskins Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan and Pittsburgh Steelers Running Backs Coach Kirby Wilson. This according to Jeff Zrebiec and Aaron Wilson of The Sun.
As of Thursday afternoon, a second interview with former Lions Offensive Coordinator Scott Linehan had not been scheduled.
"It is unlikely that [Linehan] is still under consideration," wrote Zrebiec and Wilson.
WNST's Luke Jones speculated that the second interviews for the three may mean Harbaugh isn't sure about Hostler, who he knows well from their last six years together.
But Zrebiec explained that the interviews are meant more for General Manager Ozzie Newsome and Assistant General Manager Eric DeCosta, who have been at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala.
Harbaugh has been leading the interview process on his own in Owings Mills, and is expected to get input from the other members of the front office.
"While Hostler has been on Harbaugh's staff since 2008 and is a known commodity, the second interviews could be a way for Harbaugh and other team officials to better familiarize themselves with Shanahan and Wilson, both of whom made strong impressions during their initial interviews," Zrebiec noted.
Additionally, the Ravens may want to get another look at one of their candidates for their quarterbacks coach job …
Ravens Need To Hire Quarterbacks Coach
Based on quarterback Joe Flacco's track record with a position coach by his side, ESPN's Jamison Hensley believes the team needs to fill the open post.
The Ravens opted not have a quarterbacks coach last season after they promoted Jim Caldwell to offensive coordinator, and Flacco had one of his worst years statistically.
"After the Ravens name a new offensive coordinator, the next priority should be bringing in a coach who can be in Flacco's ear, taking on the role of confidant and critic," Hensley wrote.
"Flacco's track record shows that a quarterbacks coach will help. In four seasons when a quarterbacks coach was on staff, Flacco threw 82 touchdowns and 44 interceptions for a passer rating of 87.8. In the two seasons without one, he produced 39 touchdowns and 34 interceptions for a passer rating of 76.7."
Hensley would love to see Jim Zorn return as the quarterbacks coach, but believes that is unlikely because the Ravens parted ways with him after he clashed with Cam Cameron.
Another option? Hensley suggests the same guy who has been interviewing for offensive coordinator: Shanahan.
Yet Another Ravens Assistant Gets Head Coaching Gig
Congratulations to Mike Pettine.
He's the latest former Ravens assistant to land an NFL head coaching job. The Cleveland Browns hired him Thursday, making him the 13th coach from the Ravens' pipeline to become a head coach.
A whopping 21 percent of today's NFL head coaches have roots with the Ravens, per Hensley, including Pettine, Marvin Lewis, Rex Ryan, Mike Smith, Chuck Pagano, Jim Caldwell and Ken Whisenhunt.
"This is an amazingly high number, especially when you consider this is a franchise that has been in existence for 18 years," Hensley wrote. "You want to be an NFL coach? I suggest you send a resume to the Baltimore Ravens."
Tucker Wants To Kick PAT Attempts
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell recently said he was considering a proposal that would eliminate the extra points after touchdowns.
Not surprisingly, Ravens kicker Justin Tucker is not a fan of that idea.
"For what it's worth, I like the extra point," Tucker told the NFL Network. "I like doing my job and I think it's one of those things in the game that sometimes is taken for granted."
One of the reasons Goodell said it may be eliminated is because it is nearly an automatic score, and takes away from the excitement of the game. Tucker feels that's just punishing kickers for being good at their craft.
"Sure there is a high success rate," he said. "There is also a high success rate at the end of the game when a guy is taking a knee. You got to snap the ball. You fumble the snap that makes it a completely different game.
"You look at these quarterbacks throwing for four and five thousand yards a season and they are getting increasingly efficient, but we aren't going to tell the receivers to stop wearing gloves. In my opinion it is the same principle. That is my two cents."
Quick Hits
- "Even as the Ravens' search for an offensive coordinator appears to be moving away from him, former Detroit Lions assistant Linehan would be their best option," wrote Mike Preston. [The Baltimore Sun]
- @gdowning14: People say they don't care about Pro Bowl... TV ratings show otherwise. Consistently outperforms other major sporting events. [Twitter]
- @A_Mellette3: Start my swimming lessons next week.. I'm pretty excited … I feel like ima be a shark in the water, #untappedpotential.. Michael phelps better watch out haha [Twitter]
- Check out the moments prior to Richard Sherman's outburst on national TV. Both he and Michael Crabtree were wired for sound, and had an interesting exchange. [NFL.com]
