Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh started his postgame press conference by reading a Bible verse after his team’s win over C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans Saturday night (Jan. 20).
The Ravens’ win advances them to the AFC Conference Finals against Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs. The Ravens and the Chiefs will face off this coming Sunday (Jan. 28) at 3:00 p.m. EST.
“I just want to start off with this—something that was sent to me before the game and just is meaningful to me so I’m gonna share it with you, because I think it’s the right thing to do,” Harbaugh told reporters in the postgame conference.
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Harbaugh proceeded to read 1 Chronicles 29:11: “Greatness, power, glory, victory, and honor belong to you. Because everything in heaven and on earth belongs to you. The kingdom belongs to you, Lord, you are the head and the ruler over everything.”
“So there’s amazing spirit on this team,” Harbaugh said, “and I just want to kind of give honor and glory where it’s due.”
Retired Super Bowl-winning head coach turned NFL sportscaster Tony Dungy responded to Harbaugh’s Scripture reading on social media by posting, “Coach John Harbaugh wanted to make a point after the Ravens big playoff win today. He’s letting everyone know where his focus is. Much respect.”
Coach John Harbaugh wanted to make a point after the Ravens big playoff win today. He’s letting everyone know where his focus is. Much respect. https://t.co/0CQ339YOLG
— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) January 21, 2024
This isn’t the first time Harbaugh has been open about his faith. Last year, the Ravens’ head coach shared with Sports Spectrum’s Jason Romano how his passion for history has helped affirm his faith in Jesus, particularly when it comes to Christ’s resurrection.
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While discussing Jesus’ apostles, Harbaugh said, “Nobody at any point in time recanted,” even when they faced “being executed in the most gruesome ways.” Harbaugh shared that the “strong evidence” and “consistency of the accounts” are factors that “I don’t think you can ignore.”
The 61-year-old, who beat his younger brother Jim in Super Bowl XLVII against Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers, winning his first championship, is completing his 16th season as the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens.
