Ravens' Harbaugh recalls his daughter bonding with Tom Brady

John Harbaugh was ticked at Tom Brady.

As the story goes, the Baltimore Ravens led the New England Patriots late in their 2014 divisional playoff game, but the Patriots mounted a comeback and called three plays in which eligible players were declared ineligible and eventually won the game 35-31.

Postgame, Harbaugh complained about the referees' handling of the unique formations and the Patriots' star quarterback had a famous retort.

"Maybe those guys gotta study the rulebook and figure it out," Brady said.

That comment didn't sit well with the Ravens head coach.

"I was pissed off," Harbaugh told Ian O'Connor of ESPN in an in-depth interview.

"It was uncalled for. And the rules are deeper than that, and I know the rules, and I stand by why that play shouldn't have been allowed. ... So yeah, that should never have been said."

Brady managed to make it up to Harbaugh.

The two were special guests at Jim Harbaugh's extravagant National Signing Day celebration at Michigan in February and shared a private plane after the event.

They didn't talk football. They didn't talk about the 2014 playoff game or the statements made afterward. Harbaugh's daughter, Alison, an aspiring lacrosse player, was present for the conversation and the messages from Brady appear to have reverberated.

"We'll go to practice now, and sometimes she'll say, 'I'm gonna Brady 'em today,'" Harbaugh said. "Which means, basically, 'I'm going to win everything in practice.'"

Brady may have relieved any existing tension between the two combatants, but Harbaugh has no plans on dulling the rivalry between the two AFC teams.

"There was a thing that just came out that I happened to catch, 'The 25 worst villains of the Patriots.' I think I was like 20th or 21st. I think that's a little low," he said. "I plan on making that higher in the future."