She continued, “I know people don’t want to hear that, but that’s the truth. You can’t fake things in a locker room, or a building, in sports and there’s nothing fake about them and that’s part of why they’re successful.”
From their childhoods in a football family to showing up for each other's teams, here’s everything to know about John and Jim Harbaugh’s sibling bond.
John Harbaugh and Jim Harbaugh during a press conference for Super Bowl XLVII at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on February 1, 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
John Harbaugh and Jim Harbaugh during a press conference for Super Bowl XLVII at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on February 1, 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Christian Petersen/Getty
The sibling's parents, Jackie and Jack, welcomed their first son, John, on Sept. 23, 1962, and Jim soon followed on Dec. 23, 1963. John and Jim also have a younger sister, Joani, who was born in 1968.
John Harbaugh and Jim Harbaugh pose with their parents Jack and Jackie and grandfasther Joe Cipiti during a press conference for Super Bowl XLVII at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on February 1, 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
John Harbaugh and Jim Harbaugh pose with their parents Jack and Jackie and grandfasther Joe Cipiti during a press conference for Super Bowl XLVII at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on February 1, 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Christian Petersen/Getty
Jack eventually moved on to coach college football, first at Western Michigan University and then at Western Kentucky University. Jack became the athletic director at Marquette University in 2002 after retiring from coaching, but his sons gave him the opportunity to hop back into the game on their respective teams.
“I probably should have stayed in it a little longer,” Jack told Sports Illustrated in January 2024. “But the fact that they’ve allowed me to be around the team, engage with the players and the coaches — it’s filled that void a little bit.”
Though Jack may be retired, he and Jackie could not be more supportive of their sons — whether from the sidelines or from their couch at home.
When Jim and John went head to head for the first time during a game in November 2011, Jackie said she was hoping for a tie because she couldn’t stand to see either lose.
“Of course, they both wanted to win, that’s what it’s all about,” she shared in an interview with WRTV Indianapolis in 2013 ahead of their Super Bowl match-up. “My wish, of course, was can this please end in a tie? I hope the Super Bowl does too but I know it isn’t going to.”
Jackie and Jack, who have been married for over 60 years, continue to root for their sons today. After Michigan won the Rose Bowl in 2024, a reporter for WXYZ station asked them how they felt about the win.
Jack added that they were superstitious, and as Michigan struggled to clinch the win toward the end of the game, he said Jackie suggested they switch seats to possibly change the team’s luck — and it worked.
“That is so classic of them. ... It probably did make the difference,” John said after the game, per AP. “My dad is fun, but he’s a little bit polished, he’s been interviewed before. My mom — you put a microphone in front of her face, or you hang out with her for a couple of minutes, you don’t even have to ask her what she thinks, she’s going to tell you what she thinks.”
John began his career in the NFL as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1998. In 2007, he was promoted to the position of defensive backs coach.
However, a year later, he left the team for the Baltimore Ravens to be their head coach. The decision was a surprising one by the Ravens as John had no head coaching experience at the time, nor was he ever an offensive or defensive coordinator in the NFL.
He has stayed in the position since, winning a Super Bowl with the team in 2013 and most recently leading the Ravens to the no. 1 seed in the AFC during the 2023 NFL season.
Jim Harbaugh and John Harbaugh during the first half of the Michigan and Maryland Terrapins game at Byrd Stadium on October 3, 2015 in College Park, Maryland.
Celebs AgeJim Harbaugh and John Harbaugh during the first half of the Michigan and Maryland Terrapins game at Byrd Stadium on October 3, 2015 in College Park, Maryland. Rob Carr/Getty
Jim’s career has seen more movement than John’s and began as a quarterback for Michigan in 1982. He was eventually named Big Ten Player of the Year after his senior year in 1986.
Jim played in the NFL for 14 years following his college career, for various teams ranging from the Chicago Bears to the Ravens. After his retirement as a player, Jim began coaching college football as an assistant and ultimately became Stanford University’s head coach in 2007. He served in the position for three years before he moved on to coaching the 49ers in 2010.
In 2014, Jim became the first NFL coach to depart for a college team after leaving his position at the 49ers due to a rumored power struggle. He took on the head coach position at Michigan in the 2015 season.
In January 2024, Michigan won the NCAA championship, an accomplishment that Jim joked finally earned him a spot at the "big person's table" in his family.
They won't keep me over there in the little table anymore, he said during a press conference following the win, per CBS Sports. "My dad, Jack Harbaugh, won a national championship and my brother won a Super Bowl so good to be at the big person table from now on."
John was there to celebrate Jim and the team's victory, embracing Jim on the field and telling him, "You did it!" in a video posted by the NFL.
Jim Harbaugh and John Harbaugh after the Ravens defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-17 in their AFC Wild Card game at Heinz Field on January 3, 2015 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Jim Harbaugh and John Harbaugh after the Ravens defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-17 in their AFC Wild Card game at Heinz Field on January 3, 2015 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Jamie Squire/Getty
Before there were the Kelce brothers, there were the Harbaugh brothers. The two became the first national sibling sensation when their teams were matched up against each other in the 2013 Super Bowl.
The game — nicknamed the “Harbowl” — brought media attention to the siblings, who tried to wave it off to keep the focus on their teams.
“It's not exactly [Winston] Churchill and [Theodore] Roosevelt,” John said, per The Guardian. “We get it, [the story is] really cool, and it's really exciting and all of that. But it's really about the team. It's about the players. The more we focus on those guys, the better it is for everybody.”
Jim Harbaugh of the Michigan Wolverines is seen on the field before a college football game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Michigan Stadium on November 04, 2023.
Jim Harbaugh of the Michigan Wolverines is seen on the field before a college football game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Michigan Stadium on November 04, 2023. Aaron J. Thornton/Getty
In November 2023, Michigan was accused of studying and stealing other teams’ signs — a way for coaches to communicate their strategies and plays to their players. As a result, an investigation ensued but the NCAA’s first action was to suspend Jim from three games in the season.
“His phones, his computers and all that stuff have been looked at, and he’s come through this thing with flying colors,” John said during a press conference, per AP. “I don’t know what they are trying to get, but they don’t have anything of substance, and I just think I’m proud of him. I think it’s a real compliment to our family and to him, something for us to be proud of.”
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