Who is John and Jim Harbaugh’s sister, Joani Harbaugh? Exploring the Harbaugh family legacy of sports excellence

Jim Harbaugh and John Harbaugh are a well-known pair of brothers in the football world. They are the first pair of brothers to face off in a Super Bowl as coaches, but the sporting legacy of the Harbaugh family goes much beyond that.

John and Jim have a sister, Joani Harbaugh, whose husband is also involved in the world of college sports.

So, who is she, and what does she do? Here's all we know about Joani Harbaugh and the Harbaugh family's sporting legacy.

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Who is John and Jim Harbaugh's sister, Joani Harbaugh?

Joani Harbaugh is married to former Georgia Bulldogs men’s basketball team coach Tom Crean.

In an interview with the New York Times in 2013, she said that she never intended to marry a coach, coming from a family of renowned coaches.

“I don’t know how that happened,” she said. “It was not a plan. Twenty years ago, we were all different people. Twenty years ago, we were all scrapping and scraping to make a few bucks.”

According to her, she never had any athletic inclinations like her older brothers. She played volleyball and softball but never wanted to be a professional sportsperson.

John Harbaugh once termed her sister as the favorite child while they were growing up. He deduced that by the fact that Joani had her own room despite the family living in a very small house in Iowa in the 1970s.

However, Joani was never inclined towards sports, but sports chose her through her father, brothers and now husband.

Joani attended St. Francis of Assisi elementary school in Ann Arbor, Michigan together. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh.

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John and Jim Harbaugh: The Super Bowl brothers

John’s Baltimore Ravens and Jim’s San Francisco 49ers met in Super Bowl XLVII in 2013. The Ravens took home the Lombardi and John the bragging rights.

Jim is now in charge of the Michigan Wolverines and could become the first coach to lead the team to a national title since 1997. His team faces the Washington Huskies, but he also has the expertise of his father at his disposal.

Jack Harbaugh was made the assistant head coach of the Wolverines before the start of the 2023 season. The father-son duo are on the cusp of greatness not many have been able to touch.