Ravens Complete Head Coach Interview With Kevin Stefanski

He's the first interviewee directly coming off of a head coaching stint and the fourth man to formally speak with the team, following a few Denver Broncos affiliates in Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph and Quarterbacks Coach Davis Webb, as well as Seattle Seahawks Offensive Coordinator Klint Kubiak.

Stefanski isn't the only verified candidate with head coaching experience, with Joseph having spent two seasons briefly serving as the Broncos' top play-caller before returning in a smaller role, but few contenders have a track record as acclaimed as his.

He was provided with a tough task in Cleveland in taking over a Browns team that was known for disfunction, but he won a playoff game in his first-ever season at the controls. He'd go on to win two Coach of the Year awards, and kept on building imposing defenses right up until the final days of his most recent 5-12 season.

Stefanski, to his credit, rarely had nearly as much to work with as Harbaugh did across their meetings, much less a Lamar Jackson to lean on in cycling through endless backup and prospect quarterbacks.

Ravens Familiarity

The Ravens are plenty familiar with his game, having enjoyed 12 matchups with Stefanski manning the opposing sideline. Even though the Ravens, usually the more talented team between the two, posted an 8-4 record over a dozen meetups, the games were often of the ugly variety that the AFC North routinely produces, and forced Baltimore into splitting their season series over four consecutive years.

The Ravens chose to cut ties with Harbaugh a day after every other needy squad cut bait with their own head coach, ending Stefanski's brief run as the marquee free agent. But now that the Ravens have joined the hunt for a new leader, they can enjoy the advantages attached to avoiding the race for Harbaugh.

While the rest of the league chases the star option and his laundry list of prerequisites for interested parties, they get to focus on their own list of candidates, unsullied by the A-lister who just crashed in. They got to talk to Stefanski in the interview line like they would have with anyone else, and could very well turn to one of the most experienced options in the field once they finish conducting their research.