John Harbaugh Earned Rare Football Title After Bloody Locker Room Move

Over the years, the NFL has seen plenty of nicknames. From the classics, like "Sweetness," to the modern (think 2023's "Tommy Cutlets") there hasn't been a shortage of unique monikers. And some coaches have even gotten into the mix, like Andy Reid ("Big Red") and Bill "The Hoodie" Belichick.

Well, now John Harbaugh may have earned his own title, at least within the Baltimore Ravens locker room. And, in a bizarre twist, there was some blood involved.

Let's roll the tape and check it out.

Harbaugh Called 'War Daddy' After Big Win

During Week 17, the Baltimore Ravens faced off against the Miami Dolphins with the AFC's top seed on the line. Not only did the AFC North squad win, but the scoreline spoke volumes.

Lamar Jackson threw five touchdowns as the Ravens cruised to a 56-19 victory, marking them as the class of the AFC. And while NFL coaches can sometimes be hesitant to get too high after a win, John Harbaugh wasn't holding back.

"I don't know if I've seen a more impressive performance in a game," he said. "I just think the way they've approached every single game this year—from the beginning on through adversity, travel, quality of opponents—put an exclamation point on it...triple exclamation points on it...I just have so much respect for them."

The bench boss even broke out some dance moves, which made their way to social media.

But that wasn't all that happened in the locker room.

"Go out there, come back here, go across there, come back here, play there. I'm proud of you," Harbaugh was seen telling his team in a Ravens video. "I'm proud of you. I'm bleeding, I'm so proud of you."

The bench boss didn't let some blood, which he noticed on the back of his hand, stop him. He wiped it on his forehead (in a narrative flourish, he said, "Put it on the forehead right there. That's what it's all about"), which prompted yells of "War Daddy" from the players.

And while "War Daddy" might not be commonly heard by modern sports fans, the term does have a rich football history. As Josh Levin laid out in a 2005 Slate post, it's still used behind the scenes.

"'War daddy' is the rare bit of football jargon that somehow manages to be both ubiquitous and obscure," Levin wrote. "A die-hard fan who can parse the differences between a mike linebacker and a will linebacker probably hasn't heard of a war daddy. When I suggested to former Army head coach [and war daddy enthusiast] Todd Berry that you don't hear about war daddies very often, he clucked, 'Oh, in the coaching profession you hear it quite a bit.'"

So, what is a "War Daddy?" There's not a universal definition but, as you might expect from Harbaugh wiping blood onto his face, elite ability, extraordinary toughness and a will to win all factor in.

Is Harbaugh's new title going to catch on in the same viral fashion as "Tommy Cutlets?" Probably not; it's a generic (if elite) title, and it doesn't have the same visceral, local appeal as DeVito's moniker.

But, at the same time, the world of sports is a superstitious place. If the Ravens keep rolling, don't be surprised if there are some more shouts of "War Daddy" down the stretch.