Shawne Merriman: Harbaugh Should Win Coach Of Year Over Belichick

Former NFL player Shawne Merriman has argued that Ravens coach John Harbaugh should be awarded NFL Coach of the Year over New England's Bill Belichick.

Merriman claims Belichick hasn’t overcome enough adversity to merit the accolade. 

“I know people are talking about it because they’re winning lately, but what has he [Belichick] overcome? Get what I'm saying? He's a great coach, but what did he overcome?" Merriman told Gambling.com.  “You know if Tennessee bounces back from that loss, or the Ravens who have all the injuries.... For me with the coach of the year, you have to overcome something and still win a lot of football games. So, my question would be, what has Bill Belichick overcome? You got a first-round quarterback. 

"Even though he’s a rookie, he’s a first-round guy so it's not like your starting quarterback went down and you throw your third-string in and you’re winning football games. No, your first-round quarterback is playing well, so what are you overcoming?

“This actually shows you that we're talking about Coach of the Year candidates when I talked about John Harbaugh this season so much. The injuries, and quarterback throws four interceptions and you still find a way to win a game. That, to me, is adversity.

“When you talk about Bill Belichick, they have a damn good team. They don't have as many starters that went down with season injuries. John Harbaugh, if they keep winning football games, should be Coach of the Year.”

In the same interview, Merriman has predicted Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson will find his "A-Game again" in Week 13, claiming that he's going to pick up his performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"I’m taking Baltimore. This is the weekend Lamar Jackson gets back on track. When you’re playing bad and you have an awful game, these are the weeks you hope to play Pittsburgh. This is probably the worst team that (Pittsburgh coach) Mike Tomlin has had."

If Merriman is correct and Harbaugh was to win the award, then a $100 wager on the Ravens coach would return a mouthwatering profit of $2,500, whose odds are currently +2500 with some online sportsbooks.