Ravens' Jesse Minter Earns Rave Review from John Harbaugh

That was until the NFL Combine opened up, giving the media a whack at getting Harbaugh's thoughts on the state of the team he'd spent his last 18 seasons with as they sign up for new sideline management.

"I've known Jesse since he was a kid, I just know he's always had a passion for football and a great way about him, even back then," Harbaugh remarked.

"When he first came to Baltimore, he wasn't inexperienced, he had been a defensive coordinator in college by that point. He's a coach's kid, Rick Minter is one of the smartest coaches that I've ever been around, had the chance to work with and for Rick for three years, I still talk to him all the time, and Jesse's part of that. It's in his DNA, it's in his blood," he continued.

"That's an advantage...he grew up with that, he was always ahead that way, I would say, but he's his own man. He worked hard, he was his own man in Baltimore when he was young, when he worked his way up to the safeties coach, he was his own man, got the opportunity to be a coordinator, was his own man, and then was with Jim those years, did what he did, and now he gets his opportunity to be a head coach in a great place. I have nothing but love and respect for him. I think he's ready."

Harbaugh Passing the Torch

It would appear that the recently-fired head coach has no ill will towards his previous squad nor his replacement, indicating prior reports that the shift from Harbaugh to Minter was best for everyone involved. Now, the new head coach, flanked by his coaching veteran-turned-advisor of a father, is set to approach the rest of the offseason with his completely-remolded staff, turning the page on what was there prior to his arrival.

They needed a new voice after Harbaugh's iterations of the Ravens had grown accustomed to blown leads and disappointing end-of-season finishes, and Minter, with his X's and O's background and upside as a defensive play-caller, has the background and potential to inspire the front office and fan base that the defensive-minded reputation that once defined the franchise can return.

It's a business, one of many lessons that Minter had to have learned during his time with the then-Ravens head coach. The NFL is a business, though, and just as Harbaugh recruited the defensive specialist before watching him join his brother, he now moves on to greener pastures of his own.