







When the Baltimore Ravens showed up for work on Halloween morning, coach John Harbaugh presented them with a piece of news that was the football equivalent of passing out parched apple slices to trick-or-treaters: The Ravens would be practicing in full pads later that afternoon.

Groans filled the auditorium at the team's training facility. October had been a rough month for Baltimore, which 10 days earlier had suffered a 43-13 defeat to the Houston Texans — the most lopsided loss in Harbaugh's five seasons as coach — before taking a bye-week break. The Ravens' most respected leader, legendary linebacker Ray Lewis, was back at home in Florida, having suffered a torn triceps on Oct. 14 that seemed destined to end his season.

Practicing in pads did not go over well with some of Baltimore's other veterans, including safeties Ed Reed and Bernard Pollard, and several of them openly challenged Harbaugh's edict. Rather than squashing the mini-uprising, the coach welcomed the dialogue and solicited additional criticism. Soon, the meeting turned surreal, as the subject shifted to Harbaugh's treatment of his players and perceived mood swings.

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"It was practically a mutiny," one Ravens player recalled. "It came very close to getting out of control. But the way Coach Harbaugh handled it was amazing. He let people have their say, and he listened, and he explained himself, and pretty soon it was like a big group-therapy session. In the end, a lot of positive things were said. We didn't practice in pads, but we came out of there stronger as a group."

Designating Harbaugh's deft handling of that emotional give-and-take as the pivotal moment of the Ravens' season might be difficult to prove in a court of law. However, there's no question that the 50-year-old coach's leadership has been a key element of Baltimore's 9-2 start, tied for the best in the franchise's 16-year history.

Coming off a campaign in which they narrowly missed a trip to the Super Bowl, the rejuvenated Ravens are 4-0 in November, having pulled out an overtime victory over the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium last Sunday after halfback Ray Rice converted a semi-miraculous fourth-and-29 off a screen pass. With a three-game lead over the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC North, Baltimore appears headed for its fifth consecutive postseason appearance under Harbaugh, perhaps the league's most underrated authority figure.

If the older and less celebrated of the NFL's first pair of head-coaching brothers wasn't secure and evolved enough to tolerate feedback from some of the league's most strong-willed and vocal players, the Ravens wouldn't have won more than 70 percent of their regular-season games (53-22) and reached two AFC championship games since he replaced Brian Billick following the 2007 season.

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Because no NFL player of this era is as influential within his team context as Lewis — and given the presence of other decorated veterans (Reed, pass rusher Terrell Suggs, wideout Anquan Boldin) with big personalities — coaching in Baltimore is a unique challenge. Harbaugh, who had no experience as a head coach or offensive or defensive coordinator on any level, has managed to provide assertive leadership without drowning out dissenting voices.

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