OWINGS MILLS, Md. — As new Baltimore Ravens head coach Jesse Minter peered out into the crowd at the Under Armour Performance Center late Thursday morning, some of the sights were familiar.
Jimmy Smith, Maurice Canady and Anthony Levine Sr., former Ravens defensive backs whom he once coached, were part of a sizable contingent of ex-players in the audience. Minter’s family occupied the first few rows on one side. Ravens luminaries, including owner Steve Bisciotti, executive vice president Ozzie Newsome and former team president Dick Cass, were seated in the front on the other side.
“When this job opened, this became the one for me, and this was the one that I wanted,” Minter said. “I did go through the initial process with a lot of different teams, but as I was able to reconnect with people in this organization, and knowing the history, knowing the tradition, knowing the spine of the organization, kind of what it’s built on, there was no better place for me.”
It also became quite apparent to general manager Eric DeCosta during a two-plus-week process, which included 20 interviews and many more conversations with potential successors to the fired John Harbaugh, that Minter was the right man for the job.
That reality, DeCosta acknowledged, took some time getting used to for the Ravens. When Minter and DeCosta met in 2017, Minter was a low-level defensive assistant for Harbaugh. When he departed four years later to take the defensive coordinator job at Vanderbilt, he had just one year of experience as a Ravens position coach under his belt.
“When I heard Jesse’s name as a possible candidate, it was hard for me to envision Jesse like he is, because my experience was with Jesse primarily in the draft years ago when he was (analyzing) all the bottom (guys) on the draft board in the secondary,” DeCosta said. “I just didn’t really ever think of him like that, and that’s me being honest.
“But watching him last year — we played them last year — and watching that defense, I’m like, ‘Damn, this is a good team. This is a really good defense. Jesse’s doing a hell of a job.’”
Minter’s coaching ascent, which included two years as the defensive coordinator at the University of Michigan and two years as the defensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Chargers, brought things full circle for Minter and the Ravens on Thursday.
The status of Minter, who interviewed for eight different vacancies and became the belle of the head-coaching ball once Harbaugh chose the New York Giants, had changed significantly since the last time he was in the building on a full-time basis.
He’s earned a reputation as one of the best defensive minds in football. He’s also found his voice as a team builder and leader. Chargers star safety Derwin James called Minter an “alpha,” and Chargers safety and former Baltimore player and scouting assistant Tony Jefferson raved about his ability to command the room.
“It’s just always trying to evolve, always trying to get better,” Minter said. “I think when I came in here, I had been a small college defensive coordinator, so I had stood up in front of the room and called defenses before and done those things. But I really made it a point here to come in and learn, and listen and get to know the players and learn from them about what it took to be successful at this level.
“I had great players around and great coaches to work with, and then just my confidence has grown as I’ve been in those positions now for a while.”
Minter, who was flanked on the stage by DeCosta and team president Sashi Brown, didn’t say anything particularly revelatory during his well-attended news conference Thursday. He is smart, good-natured and well spoken, and he “wowed” team officials during the arduous head-coaching process with his detailed responses and organized thoughts. However, Minter was never billed as the “dominate the news conference” type.
He showed his human side by choking up and pausing when he mentioned his family, including his father, Rick, a longtime college head coach and defensive coordinator. He praised his predecessor and former boss, John Harbaugh, who texted him during the process to say Minter deserved the job.
He thanked Jim Harbaugh and Chargers officials for helping to prepare him for the opportunity he now has. He cited all the players in attendance, many of whom were part of the team during Minter’s stint as a defensive assistant from 2017 to 2020.
Otherwise, he projected a confident and business-like demeanor, comfortable with who he is as a coach and not concerned about the tall task of following John Harbaugh, Baltimore’s longtime head coach who led the team to 12 playoff berths and a Super Bowl victory in 18 seasons.
“I love John,” Minter said. “Really just like, take the foundation in place and build on it, make it better, put my own spin on it and not try to be John Harbaugh, not try to be Jim Harbaugh. Be myself, connect with everybody, make it about all of us — and I really look forward to doing that.”
As for the other lingering questions coming in, Minter said he would call the Ravens’ defense. “That’s a strength of mine,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons I’m sitting here.”
He acknowledged that he’s had several conversations with star quarterback Lamar Jackson and expects many more as the Ravens accelerate preparations for the 2026 season. The decision to fire John Harbaugh, which played out on Jan. 6, was partially impacted by an organizational desire to get Jackson a restart of sorts following an injury-plagued and disappointing 2025 season that saw the Ravens go from preseason Super Bowl favorites to arguably the league’s most underachieving team.
John Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who was hired Wednesday as head coach of the Cleveland Browns, have both defended their relationship with Jackson, and the quarterback has maintained that he had no issues with either coach. It’s undeniable, though, that it was an awkward dynamic this past season that challenged all involved.
Now, it’s up to Minter and the staff that he hires to get the best out of the two-time league MVP.
“I think relationships take time, and so you don’t become the head coach of the Ravens and expect to have a deep relationship with anybody,” Minter said. “Those take time. We’ve been working towards that already. We’ve had wonderful conversations. I look forward to many, many more.
“But with Lamar, I just look forward to connecting with him, helping him become the best version of himself, creating a team identity that allows him to thrive, which he’s already proven to be an elite, elite — one of the best players in the National Football League — and put a team around him that allows him to reach that ultimate goal of bringing a Super Bowl back to Baltimore.”
Minter said he’s “far along” in the process of hiring a staff and in the decisions at his three prominent coordinator spots, but he wasn’t prepared to make any announcements Thursday. Among the potential candidates for the offensive coordinator job are Denver Broncos pass game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Davis Webb, ex-Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Declan Doyle and Detroit Lions assistant head coach and wide receivers coach Scottie Montgomery.
Defensively, the list of candidates includes Kansas City Chiefs defensive line coach Joe Cullen, Broncos defensive pass game coordinator and assistant head coach Jim Leonhard, Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, and Chargers defensive assistants Steve Clinkscale (defensive backs), Mike Elston (defensive line) and Dylan Roney (outside linebackers).
On special teams, Minter has the option to promote Levine, who was the assistant special teams coach last year, or to go outside the organization.
Finalizing the coaching staff is Minter’s immediate priority. Then he and the team’s decision-makers will get to work rebuilding the Ravens to where their season is again defined by the length of their playoff run.
“We’ve had a lot of success in a situation where the head coach and the general manager are partners and both report to the owner,” DeCosta said, confirming the Ravens will stick to the same structure that Bisciotti had with John Harbaugh. “We won two Super Bowls that way, we’ve won a lot of games that way, and we believe in that system — working together, fighting together and figuring things out together.”