SAD NEWS FOR THE RAVENS: HE IS BACK......

BOCA RATON, Fla. – It was rather obvious during the annual media breakfast for AFC coaches on Tuesday morning that none of the subjects in the large room were as fired up about the NFL rulebook as John Harbaugh.

At the same time, it was unlikely that any of the coaches came to the NFL meetings with a heavier heart.

On Saturday, the Baltimore Ravens coach will be 50 miles south of here in Miami, attending the funeral of Tray Walker, who died last Friday from injuries sustained when he was struck on his motorbike by an SUV. Walker, who would have been preparing for his second NFL season at cornerback, was 23.

“You either have hope or you don’t,” a philosophical Harbaugh told USA TODAY Sports as he headed to a meeting following the breakfast. “That’s the human condition. What else is there? We’re all facing the same reality. He’s resting now.”

Harbaugh is forced to balance his essential mission as a football coach with the type of real-life tragedy that no one is quite prepared for.

A deeply spiritual man, he spent the first 15 minutes of his hour-long media session talking about Walker and the tragedy, rather than typical offseason matters. His passionate pleas about the two rules proposals the Ravens have presented would come later.

Walker was the rookie who always positioned himself near Harbaugh during the national anthem, which drew ribbing from the veteran teammates who took to him. He was the fourth-round pick from Texas Southern eager to accept coaching; the man who in pre-draft interviews declared how motivated he was to move his mother into a better apartment.

As Harbaugh talked about Walker, it seemed to be therapeutic. At one point, he whipped out his cell phone, put on his glasses and read the Bible verse (Isaiah 25:8) that popped up Tuesday as the latest installment of the daily scriptures that he receives.

Like that, he took the more than two dozen media members at his packed table to church.

“(The Lord) will swallow up death forever,” Harbaugh read, “and wipe away the tears from all faces.”

A short time later, he went back to the Old Testament while walking through a courtyard.

“The only sense I can make of it is Isaiah 25:8,” he said. “That’s the faith we lean on.”

Being an NFL coach has long represented more than just football. Maybe more than the X’s and O’s, it’s about managing people and crisis management. The Ravens have surely had their share of the latter. Two years ago at this point in the calendar, the Ray Rice domestic violence incident had surfaced – and ultimately it reverberated far beyond the football team.

Now there’s death to deal with, which Harbaugh acknowledges begins with sympathy for Walker’s mother and other family members.

In the context of leading a team, he called it new territory. He doesn’t have a playbook for this, relying on faith, instincts and input from many voices.

Los Angeles Rams coach Jeff Fisher was one of the first to call, sharing perspective gained from the shooting last year of receiver Stedman Bailey. He’s talked with Ravens safety Lardarius Webb, who was close to Walker. He was touched by the call from Asa Jackson, a former Raven who joined the Arizona Cardinals. Jackson, he said, called to see how he’s doing.

Meanwhile, Ravens staffers Darren Sanders and Harry Swayne have been with Walker’s family in Miami, helping with funeral arrangements. The team is also planning for a chartered flight that would transport any players or staff members from Baltimore for the services.

Harbaugh expects that in the coming days he will get a better sense for how his players are dealing.

“I don’t know if they’ve really processed it yet,” he said, alluding to support that will be provided when players return for offseason workouts in April. “I think going to the funeral will help. I’m not an expert at this. We’ll have grief management. We’ll be looking for expert help in how to deal with this with our guys.”

Walker wasn’t wearing a helmet when he was struck at intersection, and his motorbike did not contain a headlight. When Harbaugh got the call last Thursday informing him of the serious nature of the accident and Walker’s condition, he seemingly went into denial.