Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin will face off for the 40th time in those roles Sunday night and the winner of the game will get to celebrate a division title and a playoff berth.
The consequences for the loser have been the subject of much speculation since it became clear in recent weeks that only one of the teams would have a chance of qualifying for the playoffs. Both coaches fielded questions about their job security, and Harbaugh was asked during a news conference Monday whether Sunday night’s game would be “some kind of referendum” on two coaches nearing the end of their second decade in their current roles.
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“I really don’t have the space for that,” Harbaugh said, via a team transcript. “It’s just not something that you have the capacity to think about. It’s not important. If it was important and it had an impact and an impact, then I think you would think about it, because it’s always like that. . . . And I know there’s always pressure. There’s always pressure, but I think it was Billie Jean King who said pressure was a privilege, right? Is that Billie Jean King who said that? And it’s something that’s earned. So, we think like it’s a very interesting thing to be in games like this and if these are things that we talk about at the same time, that’s okay, it’s also a privilege.
There has been plenty of disappointment on both sides of the long-standing AFC North rivalry this season and the winner of Sunday’s game won’t be able to evade questions about his overall direction, but he will be a lot quicker and a lot sharper for the team whose season ends this weekend.
