When the AFC and NFC Title Games ended on January 20^th, there were many similarities between the 2 games. The victorious team was the same team that had lost in these title games last year. Both of the winning teams scored a total of 28 points, and both of the losing teams were shut out in the 2^nd half. Perhaps most interesting – both winning teams had a head coach named Harbaugh. So, on Super Bowl Sunday, 2 brothers will face off against each other for the 2^nd time in NFL history and first time on Super Sunday. They are only 15 months apart and look like they could be twins, but John and Jim Harbaugh each have more than bragging rights at their next family dinner on the line this weekend. So, here’s the personal side of the “Harbowl”…

They were born into a football family and went to high school in Ann Arbor, when their father Jack was an assistant for Bo Schembechler at the University of Michigan.  When he took over as the head coach of Western Kentucky, they both stepped up to help their dad and his program to not only avoid being eliminated entirely, but also win a National Championship. He was an old school, run first coach and both teams this weekend have 1,000+ yard rushers on their teams…sounds like more than just a coincidence to me. Now that he’s retired, he has a new coaching role by breaking down game film for his sons after each game.

John, the elder of the brothers, is the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens. He played defensive back in college at Miami University – also known in football circles as the the “cradle of coaches” because it has produced many star football coaches. A win in the Super Bowl would cement John’s name into that cradle with the likes of Paul Brown, Bo Schembechler, Woody Hayes, and Sean Payton. He never played in the NFL but became a college assistant upon graduation and made his way through the coaching ranks – eventually making the leap from position coach to head coach (most are coordinators first). He’s always mad, his focus about the team, and it’s hard to argue with the results. He’s the only head coach in NFL history to win a playoff game in each of his first five seasons, and also the only coach to advance to three conference title games over that same span.

Jim is the more famous of the duo thanks to his collegiate and NFL careers. He was a quarterback at UofM and then spent 14 years playing in the league – including 1 season for the Baltimore Ravens (where his oldest son is currently an intern for his uncle’s team)! It only took a few years for him to become a head coach and his success at the college level led to him taking over for the 49ers in 2011. He was named the NFL Coach of the Year in his first season as they fell short to the Giants in the playoffs. He’s also all about the team and likes to remind them that “Nobody’s got it better than us” – something that was instilled in him when they were moving frequently for his dad’s coaching jobs.

Although they have taken different paths to get to the big game, the people who know them best aren’t surprised to see them here. John & Jim always shared a bedroom growing up and both were ambitious from a young age anxious to learn as much about football as they could. They aspired to be like Bo and Woody when they were young and are now living the dream of being big time football coaches. They both took risks during the season that have paid off – one making a questionable change at quarterback and the other firing his offensive coordinator with 3 games to go.

They’re best friends, they’re competitive, they’re intense, they admire each other, and they would both rather talk about their teams and players than themselves as the biggest game of their respective coaching careers approaches.

From sharing a childhood bedroom to sharing the field for the Super Bowl, things have come full circle for two bothers. Well done, boys!