AlignMENt: Jack Harbaugh: Inspiring Dad

As the hype for the sibling Super Bowl between the Ravens and Forty-Niners continues this week,

Jack with his sons Jim and John.

 I read an interesting story about Jack Harbaugh.  Jack Harbaugh is the father of the two Super Bowl coaches Jim (Ravens) and John (49ers).  Jack Harbaugh was a football coach himself most notably at Western Kentucky, but he made several other stops along the way.

One of those stops for Jack was as an assistant coach at the University of Iowa.  Jack was in the habit of bringing his boys to football practice with him in order to spend time with them and bond with them.  Jack got word that the head coach did not like having the young Harbaugh boys attend practice. 

Jack’s response?  He turned to his young son Jim and said,  “If they don’t want you there, then this is not a place that I want to be.”  Young Jim said, “Dad you can’t quit your job.  We got the season coming up. “  Jim continues, “I just remember the feeling, “Wow, my Dad loves me so much, he was going to leave his job.  That’s my dad.  He’s my hero.”

As fathers, when we know who we are and what is truly important to us, it makes all the difference in the world.