OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh is worried that sensitive team information is more vulnerable to getting stolen because of the new technology NFL teams are relying upon to connect with players during the coronavirus pandemic.
At a time when teams are preparing to go virtual — from playbooks to meetings — Harbaugh has immediately texted the Ravens’ Information Technology members when he reads about Zoom or other on-line resources getting hacked. He’s been assured that everything is secure, but he reminds them about how other companies believed the same before their customers’ accounts were compromised.
“It’s a big concern,” Harbaugh said during the Ravens’ pre-draft press conference. “Hopefully we’ll be OK. I really wouldn’t want the opposing coaches to have our playbook or our draft meetings. That would be preferable, if we can stay away from that.”
Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta joked that Harbaugh is being too concerned about cracks in today’s communication technology.
“I have more confidence in Zoom than I do in Ozzie [Newsome, executive vice president], John, Steve [Bisciotti, owner] and Dick [Cass, team president], with a copy of our draft board that they just leave in the car on their front seat or something like that,” DeCosta said.
The Ravens have looked into having their team meetings as well as strength and conditioning sessions handled virtually because NFL facilities are closed indefinitely. This is usually the time of year when teams begin their offseason conditioning program.
“They know if they don’t train and they come back out of shape, it’s not going to be much fun for them in training camp,” Harbaugh said. “Nothing could be more miserable than a Raven not being in shape in training camp. That’s pretty much well-documented.”