The Ravens announced Monday their intentions to sign coach John Harbaugh to a contract extension and retain Cam Cameron as offensive coordinator.
Harbaugh is entering the final season of his four-year contract that reportedly paid him between $2 million and $2.5 million per season. He could be seeking a deal similar to the one signed last July by Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin, who is making more than $4 million per year.
Since he was hired in January 2008, Harbaugh became just the fourth NFL coach since 1990 to guide a team to the playoffs in his first three seasons. He has a 32-16 record in the regular season and a 4-3 mark in the playoffs.
Talks between the Ravens and Harbaugh are expected to begin soon.
"We are working on an extension and expect to have it done soon," team president Dick Cass told The Baltimore Sun.
At his news conference Monday, Harbaugh said Cameron would return as the Ravens' offensive coordinator. Cameron has taken criticism for the Ravens offense dropping to 22nd this season.
But Harbaugh supported Cameron two days after the offense managed 126 yards (a team-record low in the postseason) in a playoff loss at Pittsburgh.
"Cam Cameron is our offensive coordinator," Harbaugh said. "And that's how we're going forward."
Harbaugh added, "I know Cam's a tremendous coach, and I know what kind of man he is. I know he's a humble guy. It's the same guy who was the offensive coordinator three years ago when everyone said we surpassed our expectations. Yeah, we had a tough year statistically but we did win a lot of football games with that offense. But there are things we can do a lot better and we will go to work on those things."
Harbaugh has high expectations for the Ravens offense.
"We are going to be a top-notch offense in the National Football League," Harbaugh said. "That's going to happen. I think we're closer than what you might think based on some of the stretches that we've had. The bottom line is we've had bad quarters, we've had bad halves. We're going to find a way to get that done. We're going to find a way to be a top-rated offense with a goal, and Cam says it very well, to be the winningest offense in the NFL."
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