As the days dwindle down to the start of Super Bowl XLVII, the Harbaugh family has found themselves in a unique situation. The family will be watching their own two sons coaching against each other with the best teams in professional football on the biggest stage North America has to offer.
The game is set to be played this Sunday, with Jim coaching a hard-nosed San Francisco 49ers team while John will be leading a storied Baltimore Ravens team. Although the Super Bowl is a first for both Harbaugh brothers, they are both very familiar with winning, with Jim posting an impressive career record of 27-8-1 and John having a career record of 62-30.
What will be most interesting to see is how the brothers play each other. They both developed their coaching style and techniques form their father, Jack Harbaugh, who was a coach on 10 different college football teams while Jim and John were growing up.
Jim’s 49ers will be playing with second year quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who was named starter of the team midseason after Alex Smith sustained a concussion against the St. Louis Rams. Kaepernick will be throwing the ball to a talented receiver core, which includes the future hall of famer Randy Moss. The 49ers backfield is also very versatile, led by veteran running back Frank Gore and LaMichael James. James’ quick feet will be a difficult switch-up from Gore’s power running style. Backing up the offense will be a stout defense, led by linebacker Patrick Willis and defensive end Aldon Smith, who have both been standout defensive players in the past 2 years. The backfield will be controlled by a well-coached secondary that runs a simple but effective scheme that will be difficult for receivers to overcome.
John’s Ravens will be playing for the legendary middle linebacker Ray Lewis, who will be retiring following this season. In October of 2012, Lewis tore his bicep, which for most players would be a season ending injury. But, Ray Lewis is not like most players. Just before the start of the playoffs, Lewis opted to play with his still-healing bicep. Lewis led the Ravens through win after win in the playoffs, beating a resilient Denver Broncos team in double overtime and dominating a slacking New England Patriots team, which were led by future hall of fame quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Lewis leads a defense full of talent, with veteran safety Ed Reed leading the hard-hitting secondary and a tough linebacking core, which Lewis will lead, accompanied by fellow standout linebacker Terrell Suggs. Quarterback Joe Flacco, who is developing himself as an elite quarterback, will control the Ravens offense. Flacco will be throwing the ball to storied receivers Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin, who have both single handedly shredded defenses in games earlier this year. Running the ball for the Ravens will be Ray Rice, who is considered one of the best running backs playing.
The oddity of brothers coaching against each other in the Super Bowl is a first for the NFL, and is likely to go down in history as one of the greatest matchups ever. Each team is deserving of the win, from the storied season of the Ravens to the surprising rise of the 49ers, who were one of the worst teams in the league less than 5 years ago. At the end of the day on Sunday, Jack Harbaugh and his wife, Jackie, will be torn between the joy of one of their sons winning the super bowl, and the pain of one of their sons losing the super bowl.