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The first thing it considers is how Baltimore entered the season as a strong contender to win the Super Bowl. They were a trendy preseason pick to go all the way, largely because so many NFL experts believed they had the deepest and most talented roster in the league.
This opinion was backed by the Ravens landing six players in the Pro Bowl, tied with three other teams for the league lead. When you have all this going for you, and yet you still finish below .500 and out of the postseason, it's sufficient grounds for dismissal.
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Secondly, Harbaugh's Ravens often struggled to close out games. This season contained a few egregious examples, but this issue has been around for a few years now. Citing the key stats on the Harbaugh firing: "Baltimore has blown 46 fourth-quarter leads since 2008, tied for second-most during that span, per NFL Research."
Thirdly, it's easy to understand how and why Harbaugh lost the locker room. If he talks to his players the way he talks to the media, he might have issues with messaging.
And when you can't get your message across properly, it works against you. On a few occasions, Harbaugh inadvertently owned himself in press conferences.
He's not the only coach to have done the accidental self-own in a presser, as it's somewhat common in sports. Think of any time you've heard a coach lament about his own team lacking motivation, and then thought to yourself, "Well, if only he knew somebody who could do something about that."
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Harbaugh was prone to this kind of problem, with the worst example coming after the Dec. 21 loss to the New England Patriots. Derrick Henry did not see the field for the final almost 13 minutes, despite another stellar game. Henry told the media that King Henry "should have been in there."
Again, if only Harbaugh could reach someone with the power to correct that.
This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: John Harbaugh had a few things going against him; here are three
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