Miami University has inducted Baltimore Ravens' coach into the school's Cradle of Coaches Association for his coaching achievements. John Harbaugh, a 1984 Miami University graduate, led Ravens to Super Bowl championship in 2012 and Super Bowl XLVII victory over the San Francisco 49ers in February 2013.
The Southwestern Ohio school authorities also installed Harbaugh's statue at Yager Stadium's Cradle of Coaches Plaza. The statue features his right arm raised in triumph. The inscription below the statue includes Bo Schembechler's mantra of ''The team, the team, the team." Schembechler was one of the prominent American football player, coach, and athletics administrator.
Harbaugh, 51, compared the honor to Bubba Watson winning his second Masters. "This cradle is the greatest honor in coaching, if you understand what it's all about," Harbaugh said.
"I like the pose," the Redhawks' graduate said. "That looks like a winning pose right there. That's one we usually take when we win. I feel good about the pose. I'd like to see that pose a few more times this year,'' Sports Illustrated reports.
Baltimore Ravens concluded the 2013 season at .500 and failed to make the playoffs for the first time in Harbaugh's tenure as coach.
The statue, unveiled April 19, now joins the existing Cradle of Coaches statues of Earl "Red" Blaik, Paul Brown, Carm Cozza, Paul Dietzel, Wilbur "Weeb" Ewbank, Ara Parseghian, John Pont and Glenn "Bo" Schembechler. The statues honor Miami graduates who have gained recognition at national level or coaches whose teams have won national/collegiate championships.
"You just think, man, these are the men that played and went to school at Miami University and we're playing and walking that same path that they walked. It's an incredible, incredible thing," Harbaugh said.
David Sayler, Miami athletic director, said that Harbaugh earlier twice refused the Bronze statue saying that he did not deserve the honor.
"To get him here and to have him do this and be honored this way, it's just awesome for me. It's beyond my wildest dreams as far as how the weekend has gone," Sayler said, Baltimore Sun reports.
Jay Peterson, Harbaugh's former teammate at Miam, said that during college days students always knew from the start that there was something extraordinary about the coach. The campus community was confident of his success in whatever field he chose.
