LOOKING AT THE HARBAUGH BROTHERS, GOOFY JIM AND GREAT JOHN

By STEVE KING

With the Browns in the AFC North with the Baltimore Ravens, and with the Ohio State Buckeyes in the East Division of the Big Ten Conference with the Michigan Wolverines, fans in these parts get plenty of chances to compare the head-coaching abilities – or lack thereof – of the Harbaugh brothers.

Another good opportunity to do that came Wednesday when, in advance of Sunday’s game between the Browns and the recently-crowned two-time division champion Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium, the Cleveland media had a conference call with Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh.

Whereas – for whatever strange reason – Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh seems to get all the attention in the family, it’s John who is far and away the real star.

While Jim has failed to win any championships or get into the postseason, John has done plenty of both.

While Jim has struggled to beat any of his rivals, especially the Buckeyes, John does a great job against his, namely the Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals.

While Jim can’t put together a coherent sentence and comes across as a whiny, nonsensical crybaby and a dolt, John is a standup guy who is witty, wise and intelligent and whose opinions are interesting and thought-provoking.

While Michigan fans can’t figure out why Jim still has a job, and opponents of the Wolverines are thrilled that he does, Baltimore fans are glad that John has the reins of their team and opponents of the Ravens, especially those in places like Cleveland and Cincinnati, are envious of him.

As such, if the Browns have to go looking again for a new head coach soon, and that could well happen given the seemingly ever-worsening status of the guy who currently has the job, Freddie Kitchens, then they would do well to try to find someone not like Jim but rather like John, or even someone like Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin, who may win Coach of the Year honors for his work this season.