Grading Ravens New Coaching Staff Under Jesse Minter

In doing so, they also confirmed the addition of the final two hires that were reported with assistant wide receivers coach Prentice Gill and senior assistant special teams coach Ben Kotwica, which were reported within 24 hours of each other.

Gill is one of just three holdovers from former head coach John Harbaugh's staff, having spent the past two seasons on staff as a coaching fellow. He will aid new wide receivers coach Keary Colbert and will get to continue working with homegrown star Zay Flowers, who has been voted to the Pro Bowl in each of the last two seasons since he's been on staff.

Kotwica is one of the five former Denver Broncos assistants who have joined the staff, but is the only one who isn't on offense and will help former player turned first-year special teams coordinator Anthony Levine, who was recently promoted.

Minter deserves high praise for assembling a cutting edge staff

Instead of just trying to raid the Los Angeles Chargers coaching staff, where he most recently served as the defensive coordinator the past two seasons, the first-time head coach cast a wide net and looked far and wide for the best available candidates.

In the end, he put together quite the impressive and innovative collection of assistants that has justifiably garnered high praise both in the media and around the league. He surrounded himself with some familiar faces that he had previously worked with, mentored or mentored him during his ascent, and brought in some new ones that have little to no experience at the NFL level but have shown to be great developers of talent.

It would've been easier, if not expected, for him to try and land some of the biggest and most recognizable names to fill out his staff, but he opted to give several ascending young coaches either their first or another shot at the NFL, and insulated them with experienced coaches to lead or assist them. Minter recruited some of the most respected and talented defensive coaches from the college ranks and allowed first-time offensive coordinator Declan Doyle to bring in several of his former colleagues from his time with the Denver Broncos to help him bring his vision for the offense to life in Baltimore.

Minter landed two of the top position coaches that hit the open market on offense with offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford and running backs coach Eddie Faulkner, both of whom were not retained by their former teams after new offensive-minded head coaches were hired, and they previously worked together at the collegiate level with the N.C. State Wolfpack.

The biggest coup for Minter and the Ravens was the hiring of Anthony Weaver to return to the franchise that drafted him 24 years ago as a non-play-calling defensive coordinator. This came after he was emerged as a finalist to replace Harbaugh as the head coach but got passed over in favor of Minter.

For the Ravens to not one but two of their top candidates on staff and leading the team on the side of the ball that has held them back over the past couple of seasons was a masterstroke. Overall, the process that went into putting together this staff and the result deserve a resounding ovation, which would be an 'A+', if quantified by a letter grade.

Overall Grade: A+