HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH
Opening Statement: "I appreciate everybody being here. [We] have the [High School] Coach of the Year winners from the season – the High School Football Coaches of the Year. Both the tackle football and the flag football coaches are here, so we're excited about that. We'll be naming the Coach of the Year here for the season – all are very, very qualified for that, of course. It's an awesome ... Coaches are the best. You guys are the best, because what you do, to me, you're on the front lines of our youth and teaching them the lessons and the values that you can only really learn through team environment [and] team endeavors, especially something like football, as challenging and tough as football is. So, thanks for what you do. It's the best contribution that anybody could make – being a coach. What questions do you guys have?"
With three games in 11 days, what's kind of the final message about getting through that? (Brian Wacker) "Really, the message is one day at a time and one game at a time, one play at a time, one series at a time; that is the final message. The process is the message. We've mapped it all out, like we talked about earlier in the week. We have a plan, as far as all the different practices and reps, loading and all that to be ready to be at our best, physically, in all three games, but that's up to us, as coaches. The [message to the] players and really the coaches, in terms of the scheming and the teaching, is we have our biggest challenge Sunday, and we have to be at our best on Sunday, and then tomorrow will worry about itself."
It looks like OLB Kyle Van Noy is on track to play, and he practiced fully all week. In a general sense, how important has he been for that group, with his experience, his performance and also knowing the rest of those guys rushing are pretty young? (Luke Jones) "Well, I just think it's always good to have Kyle [Van Noy] out there. He's healthy; he's played a lot of plays all year [and has] played very well. Definitely, the week off and then the bye [week] has really probably helped him, in terms of being fully ready to roll, so he's ready to go."
We know that DL Michael Pierce has been a full go all week. Have you seen what you've wanted to see from him, in terms of being physically ready? (Childs Walker) "Yes, yes Michael [Pierce] looks good."
How is K Justin Tucker looking out there? (Michael Fletcher) "Justin [Tucker]'s looking good. Yes, very good. Yes, he's practicing well [and] hitting the ball great – he has been. [He's been] doing a good job with that, so he's ready to go, too."
We didn't ask you about it on Wednesday, but what are your thoughts on Bill Belichick taking a job in college? (Jonas Shaffer) "Appreciate that. I'm really happy for Coach [Bill Belichick]. It's a really cool thing. I read ... I texted him, [but] I haven't heard back yet. I gave him a 'Congrats,' so he's been a little bit busy. I know [Athletic director of the University of North Carolina] Bubba Cunningham, the AD there, from way back. He's a great, great athletic director [and] great, great person. I saw something where he said he's always dreamed of [doing this], which is really something. To read that, it's like, he's won how many Super Bowls? He has all these rings [and is] arguably the greatest NFL coach in the history of the game – certainly the most successful – and to say, 'I've always dreamed of this,' that speaks to him, [and] that says something. That's something he's always thought about wanting to do, and now he gets a chance to do it. He'll be amazing, [and] he'll do a great job. He'll have great players. One thing about Coach Belichick [is] he's going to have a bunch of guys that like football. He's going to have a bunch of guys that want to be great [and] that want to work hard [and] that think about football – think about football going home [and] think about football coming into work. They're going to think about classes a little bit now, too, probably – that'd be a part of it. But if you're interested in football and you want to be great at what you do, North Carolina is going to be a destination for those guys."
Have you ever thought about what it would be like to go back to college after being in the NFL for a very long time? Obviously, your brother has kind of gone back and forth. How big of a difference would it be? (Childs Walker) "I don't think it's too big a difference. Coaches coach. You coach at any level; you coach in high school. There are great coaches at every level. There are coaches in high school football that can coach in the NFL like that. There are coaches in the NFL that can coach in high school. Coaching is coaching, pretty much. It's different challenges for sure, and there are different schemes and everything [that] are different, but the ability to kind of connect with guys, to put the players first, [with] their best interests at heart, put together a team [and] build a team, all those things are the same."
HIGH SCHOOL COACH OF THE YEAR ANNOUNCEMENT
John Harbaugh: "[For] 28 years, the Ravens have named a High School Coach of the Year, and this will be the first for girls flag. To be eligible, you have to be named a Coach of the Week, throughout the week, for what your team has done and the job that you did. So, here are the two coaches that have been named the Ravens' Coach of the Year: Arundel High School, Jack Walsh – 3A State Champs [and] Arundel's first title since 1975."
Jack Walsh: "This is really different for me. Thank you guys, and thank you to the Ravens and Coach [John] Harbaugh for having all of us out today and letting us tour the facility. It's been fantastic. And thank you to Arundel. We've been waiting 49 years, and we did it, so thank you guys."
On what it meant for Arundel to finally break through and win a state championship: "It's something we've been chipping away at for years, and it's just been out of our grasp, out of our grasp. It was very surreal. Aside from my daughter being born and – I have to say – getting married to my wife, holding that trophy up in front of the home crowd was just second to none, so it was a great feeling."
On if he or John Harbaugh could coach the other's team: "[John Harbaugh] could definitely do my job. His problems aren't my problems, and I don't think I could handle the stress of his job. So, I'm perfectly happy and content where I am, and we're good coaching and teaching high school kids."
Harbaugh: "The Ravens Flag Coach of the Year. [This is] the first year we've had this one. It will be [a] first time-ever award: Chad Hartman – Boonsboro High School."
Chad Hartman: "Again, thank you to the Ravens. This has been amazing. To be able to start girls football last year in Frederick County, I think it went really well – expanding into Washington County and now across Maryland. It's been wonderful. The girls have taken to it amazingly. It's crazy to see some of the athletic ability of some of the young ladies in the state of Maryland. Some of the games we've played against some of the coaches out here, [it's] just unbelievable, and I can't wait for it to grow. We're short like 30-something teams to make it an official state sport in Maryland. We're really hoping [for] Baltimore County [and] Carroll County, [and] we're really hoping they jump on board and kind of make this something that's going to last a long time to come. Again, thank you guys very much."
Harbaugh: I have a question. What is it about football [and] flag football that attracts the girls to play? And what are the benefits of it? Why is it so great?
Hartman: "It's different. We have a lot of dual-sport players on my team, and – I will say this – a lot of them, they love to come to football practice. I think it's fun for them. They've seen it on TV for all of these years, and now they get to actually go out there and compete, and I think they appreciate that. As a father, it's awesome to have daughters that are getting into football now that I can sit on the couch with, and they're understanding it, because they're sitting there, and they're coming to practice with me all of the time. This is just ... It's great as a father, it's great as a dad, it's great as a ... Twenty-three girls have all become my daughters now because of this – what you all helped me put together – so it's awesome."
