For the first time since the 2014 season, the Harbaugh brothers are both coaching in the NFL. Jim Harbaugh returned to the league as the new head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, after spending time in college football as the coach of Michigan.
He is scheduled to face his brother, John Harbaugh, when the Chargers play the Baltimore Ravens in November next season. This is not the first time they have been on opposite sidelines. They met in Super Bowl XLVII, when Jim Harbaugh was head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. In the first-ever Super Bowl sibling battle between head coaches, John Harbaugh came out on top as his Ravens won 34-31.
Looking ahead to this year's Week 12 Harbaugh showdown, John Harbaugh explained what it is like going against your sibling. He noted that it is complex because while he is always cheering for Jim Harbaugh to succeed, things are different when they're facing each other.
"It's so meaningful," John Harbaugh said, via the Ravens' "The Lounge" podcast. "We both root for each other, we both have each other's back all the time, and yet we're competing against each other. And yeah, there is a pride part of it. You do want to win. ... These things live on. These are real-life moments that, you know, there's a winner and a loser in some of these games like that, and you can kind of never forget these things."
While many label the competition as a fight for "bragging rights," John Harbaugh says that does not encapsulate the situation.
"It's not so much who's going to have 'bragging rights.' That kind of understates how it really works," John Harbaugh said.
The Ravens coach added that he is hoping the Chargers make the playoffs, but if they end up meeting in the postseason it would feel like a "double-edged sword."
"I want him to be in the playoffs. I want them to be successful, for sure. He's my brother," John Harbaugh said. "And if we play him, I want to win. ... If for some reason, whenever it happens, if they're in the Super Bowl, I'm rooting for them to be in the Super Bowl. I'll be rooting for him just like in [Michigan's] national championship game, all in for them to win that game."
If they do meet in a win-or-go home game, he expects it to bring up similar emotions as the 2012 Super Bowl.
"It's hard to lose that game. It's even hard to win that game," John Harbaugh said. "Because you go shake hands -- I think there's some clips coming back out about that whole thing -- that was a tough moment. That was a tough moment. It's not all joy when it's your brother on the other side of that deal."
Overall, John Harbaugh is happy for his younger brother to be back in the league -- even though he says Jim Harbaugh will turn to "the enemy" when they meet.
"... The rest of the time he's my brother. So it's nice to have someone I can call or talk to about rules or about meetings or know that I have someone to go to lunch with," John Harbaugh said.
