In John Harbaugh's five seasons as the Ravens' head coach, he's grown close to team Owner Steve Bisciotti.
Harbaugh praised Bisciotti during his press conference Thursday, and thought back to the advice that Bisciotti gave him when he first hired him as the head coach.
"Approach every day at work like it's you first day at work, with that same kind of enthusiasm," Bisciotti told Harbaugh. "And approach every day with your family like it may be your last with your family. And if you do that every single day, you're going to be OK."
Harbaugh said he thinks about that piece of advice from Bisciotti every day.
Bisciotti's preference is to stay out of the spotlight and he even skipped Super Bowl Media Day on Tuesday to avoid getting questioned by hundreds of reporters. Bisciotti prefers to put the attention on the players, and Harbaugh commended him for that.
"I think Steve deserves a lot of credit, and he's not a guy that wants the limelight," Harbaugh said. "He's not a guy that wants to be out front banging in his chest. He's a humble man, too. He's just a great role model for all of us."
A number of players also spoke highly of Bisciotti, who arrived in New Orleans Wednesday night.
"That's my guy," wide receiver Torrey Smith said. "It's everything about him. He's so laid back. He's more personal. I feel like other people in his position might feel like they're entitled or a little stuck up. But he's very personal. He respects everyone, he communicates with everyone in our building the exact same, he treats everyone with the same respect. He's very humble and it comes off on our team and our organization. I'm happy he's a big Terps guy too. I've got love for Steve Bisciotti."
Smith said that Bisciotti personally contacted him earlier this season when his brother passed away less than 24 hours before the Ravens played the Patriots.
"He didn't go through someone else. He calls," Smith said. "He really cares about his players. Everyone understands this is a business but he cares about his players and their wellbeing as an owner. That says a lot about him."
Veteran center Matt Birk recounted the conversion he had with Bisciotti soon after signing with the Ravens in 2009.
"He just said how happy he was," Birk said. "I told him, 'Thank you, Mr. Bisciotti.' He said, 'Don't call me Mr. Bisciotti. Call me Steve.' That's how he is. He doesn't try to act like the owner or act like anybody special. There really isn't anything pretentious about him. I think he makes everybody feel comfortable.
"Your leadership does permeate to other people in the organization. It kind of sets a tone, creates an atmosphere that can be positive or negative. I think if you look at the Ravens organization, how it's run, how it's structured and how they do things, I think Steve Bisciotti is a heck of an owner."
Defensive lineman Terrence Cody pointed to a different appreciation for Bisciotti.
"He probably has the most swag out of all the owners," Cody said. "If they were to do an NFL owner swag test, he would probably be at the top. I'm being serious."
