The

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

are an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team based in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. They are currently members of the North division of the

American Football Conference The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference ...

(AFC) in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). In 1996, the Ravens joined the

(AFC) of the

(NFL) after former

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

owner

Art Modell Arthur Bertram Modell (June 23, 1925 – September 6, 2012) was an American businessman, entrepreneur and National Football League team owner. He owned the Cleveland Browns franchise for 35 years and established the Baltimore Ravens franchis ...

decided to relocate the team to Baltimore. However, as part of an agreement between Modell, the NFL and the city of Cleveland, Modell left the Browns' name, colors and history in Cleveland. However, the team's players and staff were permitted to move to Baltimore with the franchise. For this reason, the Ravens are considered an

expansion team An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...

. The Browns name was later reintroduced in 1999. Modell had planned to bring

Bill Belichick William Stephen Belichick (; born April 16, 1952) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Additionally, he exercises extensive authority over the Patri ...

to Baltimore as head coach, but Belichick was fired February 14, 1996. Instead, Modell hired

Ted Marchibroda Theodore Joseph Marchibroda (March 15, 1931 – January 16, 2016) was an American football quarterback and head coach in the National Football League (NFL). He spent his four years as an active player with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1953, 1955&nd ...

on February 15 as the first head coach of the Ravens franchise in 1996. Marchibroda had previously coached the Baltimore Colts in the 1970s and the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

in the 1990s. After three seasons, his contract was not renewed.

Brian Billick Brian Harold Billick (born February 28, 1954) is an American former American football, football coach and commentator. He was the offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings from 1994 to 1998; the team broke the National Football League, NF ...

succeeded him after accepting a six-year coaching contract from Modell. Billick went on to lead the Ravens to four playoff appearances in his nine years as coach. In 2000, he led the Ravens to a 34–7 victory in

Super Bowl XXXV Super Bowl XXXV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

. On December 31, 2007, Billick was fired by Ravens owner

Steve Bisciotti Stephen J. Bisciotti (; born April 10, 1960) is an American business executive and the current majority owner of the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL. He founded Aerotek, the largest privately owned staffing and recruiting company in the U.S. based ...

after leading the Ravens to a 5–11 record in the 2007 season. Less than three weeks later, the Ravens hired

John Harbaugh John William Harbaugh (born September 23, 1962) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Previously, he coached the defensive backs for the Philadelphia Eagles and served ...

as the franchise's third head coach. Harbaugh reached the playoffs in each of his first five seasons as Ravens head coach, bringing success to the franchise, including a victory in

Super Bowl XLVII Super Bowl XLVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

, in which the Ravens beat the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

, led by John's brother

Jim Harbaugh James Joseph Harbaugh (; born December 23, 1963) is an American football coach and former quarterback, who is the current and 20th head football coach of the Michigan Wolverines. He played college football at Michigan from 1983 to 1986. He play ...

, by a score of 34-31.

Coaches

:''Note: Statistics are accurate through end of the

2021 NFL season The 2021 NFL season was the 102nd season of the National Football League (NFL). The season was the first to feature a 17-game regular season schedule as the league expanded the season from 16 games. The regular season started on September 9, ...

.'' File:Ted Marchibroda.jpg,

File:Brian Billick 2007-08-08.jpg,

File:Robert Griffin III, John Harbaugh (44327168632) (cropped).jpg,

Notes

References

;General * * * ;Specific {{NFL head coaches by team

Head coaches A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in asso ...