John and Jim Harbaugh: Everything to Know About the Football Coach Brothers

John and Jim Harbaugh made waves in the football world as coaches of the Baltimore Ravens and the University of Michigan.

John and Jim Harbaugh are one of football’s OG sibling pairs.

Both are top at the NCAA and NFL level, John is the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens and Jim holds the same position for the University of Michigan Wolverines. Previously, Jim also coached in the NFL, making them the first siblings to both serve as head coaches in the league.

The brothers had impressive seasons in 2023, with Jim leading Michigan to a championship on January 8, 2024 and John leading the Ravens to first place in the AFC North.

Although John and Jim may no longer coach in the same league, their football heritage goes back decades. Jim previously coached the San Francisco 49ers, who lost to John’s Ravens in the 2013 Super Bowl.

Jim left the NFL soon after and went to work for Michigan, but the brothers continued to support each other. Ahead of Michigan’s championship game, John confirmed that he plans to travel to Houston, Texas, to watch and cheer on his brother.

“Everyone in the family has a different personality. They care about the same things,” Joani Crean, John and Jim’s sister, told The Associated Press in January 2024. “Maybe they handle things differently, but I think that’s more perception than reality. They are caring human beings.”

She continued: “I know people don’t want to hear that, but it’s the truth. You can’t fake things in a locker room or a building in sports and there’s nothing fake about them and that’s part of why they’re successful.”

From their childhood in a football family to playing for other teams, here’s everything you need to know about John and Jim Harbaugh’s brotherly bond.

They were born in Ohio

John Harbaugh and Jim Harbaugh during the press conference for Super Bowl XLVII at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on February 1, 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

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Sibling parents, Jackie and Jack, welcomed their first son, John, on September 23, 1962, with Jim soon following, on December 23, 1963. John and Jim also have a younger sister, Joani, who was born in 1968.

The two boys were born in Toledo, Ohio, where their father coached the high school football team.

They grew up in a football family

John Harbaugh and Jim Harbaugh pose with their parents Jack and Jackie and grandfather Joe Cipiti during the press conference for Super Bowl XLVII at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on February 1, 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

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Jack eventually became a college football coach, first at Western Michigan University and then at Western Kentucky University. Jack became the athletic director at Marquette University in 2002 after retiring from coaching, but his sons gave him the opportunity to return to playing with their teams.

“I probably should have stayed in it a little longer,” Jack said Sports Illustrated in January 2024. “But the fact that they allowed me to be with the team, to interact with the players and the coaches — that filled that void a little bit.”

Although Jack may be retired, he and Jackie couldn’t be more supportive of their sons – either from the sidelines or from their home couch.

When Jim and John first met during a game in November 2011, Jackie said she was hoping for a tie because she couldn’t bear to see them both lose.

“Of course they both wanted to win, that’s what it’s all about,” she said in a 2013 interview with WRTV Indianapolis ahead of their Super Bowl matchup. “My desire, of course, was, can this end in a draw? I hope the Super Bowl will work, but I know it won’t.”

Jackie and Jack, who have been married for more than 60 years, are still rooting for their sons today. After Michigan won the 2024 Rose Bowl, a reporter for WXYZ the station asked them how they felt about the win.

“You are kidding?!” Jackie exclaimed into the microphone. “They won! What’s better than that?!”

Jack added that they were superstitious, and as Michigan struggled to get the win near the end of the game, he said Jackie suggested they switch places to maybe change the team’s luck — and it worked.

“That’s so classic of them. … It probably made the difference,” John said after the game, according to the AP. “My dad is funny, but he’s a bit smooth, he’s been interviewed before. My mom — put a microphone in front of her face, or hang out with her for a few minutes, you don’t even have to ask her what she thinks, she’ll tell you what she thinks.”

John is the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens

John Harbaugh during the fourth quarter at M&T Bank Stadium on October 2, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland.

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John began his NFL career as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1998. In 2007, he was promoted to the position of defensive backs coach.

However, a year later, he left the team and went to the Baltimore Ravens to be their head coach. The decision was surprising to the Ravens because John had no experience as a head coach at the time, nor had he ever been an offensive or defensive coordinator in the NFL.

He has remained in that position ever since, won a Super Bowl with the team in 2013 and most recently led the Ravens to the no. 1 seed in the AFC during the 2023 NFL season.

Jim studied at the University of Michigan and later became the head coach of their football team

Jim Harbaugh and John Harbaugh during the first half of the Michigan vs. Maryland Terrapins game at Byrd Stadium on October 3, 2015 in College Park, Maryland.

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Jim’s career took more turns than John’s and began as a quarterback for Michigan in 1982. He ended up being named Big Ten Player of the Year following his senior year in 1986.

Jim played in the NFL for 14 years after his college career, for a variety of teams ranging from the Chicago Bears to the Ravens. After retiring as a player, Jim began coaching college football as an assistant and eventually became the head coach at Stanford University in 2007. He worked in that position for three years before moving on to coach the 49ers in 2010.

In 2014, Jim became the first NFL coach to go to a college team after leaving his position with the 49ers for a rumored power struggle. He took over as the head coach at Michigan in the 2015 season and has remained in that position ever since.

In January 2024, Michigan won the NCAA Championship, an accomplishment Jim joked finally earned him a seat at the “big man’s table” in his family.

“They’re not going to keep me there at the little table anymore,” he said during the post-victory press conference, per CBS Sports. “My dad, Jack Harbaugh, won a national championship and my brother won a Super Bowl, so it’s good to be at the big table from now on.”

John was there to celebrate Jim and the team’s victory, hugging Jim on the field and telling him, “You did it!” in a video released by the NFL.

They played against each other in the Super Bowl

Jim Harbaugh and John Harbaugh after the Ravens beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-17 in their AFC Wild Card game at Heinz Field on January 3, 2015 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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Before there were the Kelce brothers, there were the Harbaugh brothers. The two became the first national sensation as brother and sister when their teams squared off in the 2013 Super Bowl.

The game – nicknamed the “Harbowl” – drew media attention to the siblings, who tried to shrug it off to keep the focus on their teams.

“Not really [Winston] Churchill and [Theodore] Roosevelt,” said John, per Guard. “We understand, [the story is] really cool, and it’s really exciting and all that. But it’s really about the team. It’s about the players. The more we focus on those guys, the better for everybody.”

John supported Jim during the sign theft scandal in Michigan

Jim Harbaugh of the Michigan Wolverines is seen on the field before a college football game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Michigan Stadium on November 4, 2023.

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In November 2023, Michigan was accused of studying and stealing other teams’ cues — a way for coaches to communicate their strategies and plays to their players. As a result, an investigation ensued, but the NCAA’s first action was to suspend Jim three games into the season.

At the time, John came to his brother’s defense, stating that the investigation had found nothing “substantial” against Jim.

“His phones, his computers and all that stuff were looked at, and he passed this thing with flying colors,” John said during a news conference, according to the AP. “I don’t know what they’re trying to get, but they don’t have anything of substance, and I just think I’m proud of him. I think it’s a real compliment to our family and to him, something we can be proud of.”

When Jim was unable to coach one of his team’s games against the University of Maryland, John hosted him at his home in Baltimore to watch the game from home.

Jim and John occasionally appear alongside each other

Jim Harbaugh and Jim Harbaugh after halftime of the Michigan vs. Maryland Terrapins game at Byrd Stadium on October 3, 2015 in College Park, Maryland.

Rob Carr/Getty

They used to play against each other, but now Jim and John appear to support each other, even giving some advice during games.

In 2015, John attended the Michigan vs. Maryland game, joining Jim on the field.

“It’s an honor to be on the sideline with him,” Jim said after the game Detroit Free Press. “He gave good input during the game. It’s cool for our players. He talked to them afterwards. It’s good that he got to know our team.”

When reporters asked John if he had suggested a play to Jim, he laughed at them, saying he thought he had been distracted.

“That would probably be overkill,” he said. “I think I screwed him up on one play there. He blamed me. I distracted him.”

Jim also appeared at Ravens games. After leaving the NFL, Jim was on the sidelines in a Ravens cap and gave his older brother some pointers.

“You catch the eye,” John said. “Same thing when he was at our game in Pittsburgh. I walked over and just asked him, ‘Hey, what do you see? What do you think?’ And you always see something to share. You just madly hope that if you propose something, it will work. You don’t want to suggest something that doesn’t work and costs them the game or something. Thank God that didn’t happen today.”

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Source: HIS Education