“Way Overrated”: John Harbaugh Gets Honest on His Hand in Lamar Jackson’s Success With a Clear Message on Jaxson Dart’s Future

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As John Harbaugh prepares for the 2026 season, things may feel a little different. He’s no longer the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens or Lamar Jackson. Instead, Harbaugh is now leading the New York Giants, with second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart set to be his starting signal-caller.

Still, there’s little doubt that Harbaugh will draw from his experience developing Jackson as he now looks to guide the QB’s development this season. And when CBS Sports’ Aditi Kinkhabwala asked him about that comparison, Harbaugh offered a brief explanation.

“I would say this: it’s like way overrated, you know, what I would have done,” Harbaugh said when asked how transforming Jackson would help the head coach in developing Dart. “And there was a lot of coaches involved, but the credit goes to Lamar. Lamar Jackson was gonna be great no matter who his head coach was, no matter who his offensive coordinator was, because he was so determined and so talented and so tough and so competitive and everything else.

“So, it didn’t really matter, but I was blessed and privileged to be able to be around him every day to be his head coach. It’s something I’ll cherish, and I did learn a lot, and I think I did learn a lot of things that are going to apply toward Jaxson Dart. Those kinds of things that I can kind of draw from in talking to Jackson.”

Harbaugh's candid take on his role in Lamar's dominance reveals what really drives Baltimore's offense. Subscribe for the coaching insights and quarterback dynamics shaping the NFL.

Back in 2018, Harbaugh inherited a talented rookie, but Jackson was not immediately thrown into the starting job. With Joe Flacco as the QB1, Harbaugh and his staff took time to develop Jackson rather than immediately making him the starting quarterback. Even during Jackson’s first offseason, the Ravens were looking at specific areas of his development.

At Louisville, Jackson played in an offense designed to take advantage of his special abilities as both a passer and runner. However, the way plays were communicated was different. The coaches would send the play directly to the relevant position groups from the sideline. In the NFL, the job was a bit different. This is exactly why then-Ravens OC Marty Mornhinweg and quarterbacks coach James Urban worked specifically with him on this skill.

By the time Flacco went down and Jackson had his first start, the results were clear: Lamar Jackson was going to be the Ravens’ franchise quarterback. The rookie carried the ball 27 times and generated 117 rushing yards in his first career start, leading Baltimore to a 24-21 win over the Indianapolis Colts.

“I thought he played winning football,” Harbaugh praised Jackson following the game.

A year later, Jackson already earned his first MVP honors after recording over 3,000 passing yards, 36 touchdowns, and just 6 interceptions, while also rushing for over 1,200 yards and 7 more touchdowns. While Jackson and John Harbaugh failed to make the Super Bowl, the head coach had developed the former Louisville signal-caller into one of the best young quarterbacks in the league.

Fast forward to now, and Harbaugh has been tasked with developing Dart in his first-year as the Giants’ head coach. And according to Harbaugh, Dart could achieve that by being himself, just like Jackson did.

“The best version of yourself, the most disciplined version of yourself,” he said. “Understand that you’re the quarterback and you’ve got to bring the whole team with you. It’s your offense. You’re responsible for the offense as much or more than anybody because you’re the guy running the show. And Lamar took that on his shoulders.”

Jaxson Dart showed poise in his rookie year, but failed to lead the Giants to wins amid a major head coaching carousel. Now, he’s heading into his second NFL season with John Harbaugh at the helm. How that partnership turns out remains to be seen.

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