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John Harbaugh, Ravens agree to terms on extension

John Harbaugh's future in Baltimore is secure.

The coach has reached an agreement on a contract extension with the Ravens, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, per a source.

Details of the extension are not yet available.

Baltimore signaled in late December that an extension for Harbaugh was near when the team announced in an unexpected statement that the coach would remain with the Ravens through the remainder of his contract which was set to expire in 2019.

Rapoport reported following Baltimore's Wild Card loss to the Los Angeles Chargers that the two sides were making progress on an extension. Two weeks later, at a team retreat, it appears the deal has been sealed.

Harbaugh was on thin ice in Baltimore after starting the 2018 season 4-5 with Joe Flacco at quarterback. After a hip injury sidelined Flacco out of the bye, rookie lightning rod Lamar Jackson changed the paradigm for the Ravens' offense and perhaps the state of Harbaugh's job security.

Complementing a stiff defense, Baltimore rushed for 200-plus yards in all but two of its final seven games after the bye week. The Ravens, a team that averaged 92.6 rushing yards per game in Weeks 1-9, averaged 229.6 rushing yards per game in Weeks 11-17, during which they went 6-1. With that stretch run, Baltimore won the AFC North and secured its first home playoff game since the 2012 season.

Harbaugh will oversee a period of great change in Charm City. Ozzie Newsome is out as Ravens general manager, on his terms, replaced by Eric DeCosta. Flacco will be on the trading block, and potentially the free-agency market, as Jackson takes over. Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg is already out the door, with assistant head coach and tight ends coach Greg Rowan taking the reins.

The longest-tenured coach in the Ravens' short history and the fourth-longest of any coach at his current franchise, Harbaugh is as synonymous with his club as any coach west or south of Bill Belichick. That will remain so for at least the next few years.

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