The Baltimore Ravens have their new head coach.
Baltimore hired former Los Angeles Chargers defensive co-ordinator Jesse Minter for its top job on Thursday, per a team announcement.
“I am truly honoured to serve as the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens,” Minter said in a statement from the team. “This is an organization whose values, culture and tradition of excellence reflect everything I believe about the game of football and how it should be played.”
Minter previously coached with the Ravens from 2017 to 2020, starting as a defensive assistant and ending as defensive backs coach. He then left for the NCAA, taking over as Vanderbilt’s defensive co-ordinator.
The 42-year-old will take over for the previously fired John Harbaugh, who served as Baltimore’s head coach for 18 seasons.
“Jesse is a strong leader who possesses a brilliant football mind and a spirit that will resonate with our players and fanbase alike,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said. “Jesse comes from a football family, with success at every level of the sport, and we are confident that he is the right coach to lead the Ravens forward.”
With Minter at the helm in 2025, the Chargers’ defence ranked fifth in total defence and ninth in points allowed, earning a post-season berth as the AFC’s fifth seed.
Minter will now be tasked with taking over a Ravens team that missed the playoffs for the first time since 2021 and second since 2017.
Baltimore missed out on an NFC North title in the final week of the regular season, when rookie kicker Tyler Loop missed a field goal as time expired against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The loss dropped the Ravens to 8-9 and pushed the Steelers on through to the playoffs.
