A different type of road trip
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh leaves today for a big road trip, but this one doesn't involve an away game or a scouting session.
Instead, Harbaugh is taking part in a six-day trip to the Pursian Gulf on the inaugural NFL-USO Coaches Tour.
The trip will allow Harbaugh to meet with service members throughout the region and spend the Fourth of July with them as well.
"The Persian Gulf trip is going to be a great experience," Harbaugh said a few weeks ago. "From what I've been told, it's going to be from dawn to midnight, a couple hours of sleep and back up again. [We'll be] taking helicopter flights around and going to see as many troops as we can.
"These guys are what America is all about. You know, we talk about team and sports, we think team is important, having each other's back - and it is important - but we're just a small little slice of what that means compared to the military.
"I think everybody in this country is proud of everything that's being done over there by our young people. We have them out here all the time. They come out here and watch practice; they talk to our team, guys who have been through some amazing situations."
Harbaugh will be joined on the trip by Giants coach Tom Coughlin, Titans coach Jeff Fisher, former Steelers coach Bill Cowher and former Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden.
"I think I'm going to learn more and enjoy it more probably than [the troops] are, for sure," Harbaugh said. "What am I going to say to them? I'm looking forward to what they have to say, and it's going to be a neat trip."
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Categories (click for archive)Dan Kolko | Ravens News |
To me, Harbaugh has the right personality for this trip. He seems like a decent guy, but I think anyone can tell he is a tough, hard nosed coach who wants things does his way...something we sorely needed before he was hired. And while he does ask and receive input from certain veterans regarding some things, it really is his way or the highway. He definitely fits in with the other strong-willed mentalities, like Gruden, Cowher, Coughlin and Fisher. I am psyched to see how Harbaugh interacts with the players and controls his second training camp.
Coach Harbaugh won me over from day one with his personality. I don't care if some veterans were offput by his hard nosed training camp, but he is just the kind of coach our team needed after growing stagnant under Coach Billick.