Jim Harbaugh Still Seething Over Super Bowl Loss to Ravens

Jim Harbaugh has a bright future but is still haunted by his defeat at the hands of his brother, John, and the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII.

Haters of the Baltimore Ravens could refer to their victory in Super Bowl XLVII as ancient history. For former San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, it feels like yesterday.

Harbaugh is back in the NFL after a successful collegiate national championship run at the University of Michigan, and set to stand at the helm of the Los Angeles Chargers next season. Making the rounds on radio row in the pregame hype for Sunday's Super Bowl between Kansas City and San Francisco brings back haunting memories for Harbaugh, whose previous gridiron championship visit ended in futility. 

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The Ravens' victim in their second Super Bowl win was a San Francisco 49ers team led by Harbaugh, who was bested by his brother John in a 34-31 thriller in New Orleans after the 2012 season. A chance at another Super Bowl visit was one of the motivating factors for Harbaugh's return to the professional level after nine years leading Ann Arbor's Wolverines.

"It comes up in my thinking just about every single day, what we could have done differently," Jim Harbaugh told Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. "(I'm) happy for my brother, but to have another crack at it and to be afforded that opportunity, that's big."

"I know what it's going to take to get there, it's going to be a lot of sacrifice, a lot of hard work, but it's incredible because the reward of being there and I want to know the feeling of winning it for our players, for our coaches. It's what drives me."

What makes Harbaugh's championship experience all the more agonizing is how close he came to setting one of the biggest Super Bowl landmarks. Baltimore led 28-6 in the second half before a blackout doused the Mercedes-Benz Superdome into darkness. The electric reignition appeared to apply to the 49ers as well, as they narrowed the gap all the way down to five points by their final offensive possession, which made it to the Ravens' five-yard line in the penultimate minute

But three consecutive incompletions from 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick gave Baltimore the ball back, allowing them to run most of the clock out with three short runs, an intentional safety, and stopping the ensuing free kick. Had San Francisco completed the comeback, it would've been the biggest in Super Bowl history at the time.

Harbaugh's biggest regret, he explained, was not handing the ball off to Frank Gore on any of the final four goal-to-go plays. Gore had 110 yards on the night, the final 33 coming on a long run that set San Francisco up at the cusp of the goal line before the eventual turnover on downs.

"I wish we would have run the ball, would have taken a crack with Frank Gore (with) a couple carries down there," Harbaugh said. "Would've, could've, should've. It's the kind of stuff that haunts you, because you walk off the field and go 'There will be other days' and you realize that might have been the only day and to have a chance to have another day, that's all you can ask for is a chance."

Harbaugh seems to have a solid opportunity ahead. Armed with established young talents in a variety of skill spots, the Chargers hosted one of the most attractive NFL head coaching vacancies after Harbaugh's predecessor Brandon Staley was fired in December. The 2024 schedule will include a visit from John and the Ravens.

In the meantime, Harbaugh is enjoying his final splashes of glory from his final collegiate hours: Michigan football enjoyed a dominant run to the national title game, which saw them take down Washington 34-13. Harbaugh has taken on a newfound respect for the Super Bowl, recognizing the lengths that Kansas City and San Francisco had to go to traverse this far.

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"I come back to these Super Bowls now to pay respect to the NFL, to pay respect to the game and mostly those two organizations that made it: the 49ers, the Chiefs. They're the ones that did it." Harbaugh said. "It takes a lot of hard work, it takes incredible players, incredible coaches, and a lot of luck just to be here in this game.

"There was a time when I was a player and a coach and I said "I don't want to go to the Super Bowl unless we're in it.' That's changed. Since getting there and experiencing it, now it's like I want to pay respect to those two franchises and to the league."