Ravens' Jesse Minter is Assembling Staff of Rising Stars

Baltimore's most recent interview request for the vacant non-play-calling defensive coordinator role was for another up-and-comer in Denver Broncos defensive passing game coordinator and assistant head coach Jim Leonhard. Unfortunately, he agreed to serve in the same role for the Buffalo Bills instead, which makes sense because he'll get to design and call the plays on defense in upstate New York.

The three reported hires signal that, similarly to Harbaugh before him, Minter has his finger on the pulse and ear to the ground when it comes to who some of the other well-respected and innovative minds are who are on their way to becoming household names in their own right, as he did during his ascension.

The Fighting Irish boosters and fan base are still in mourning over the loss of Mickens, who was instrumental in the development and recruiting of the young players who turned Notre Dame's secondary from a glaring weakness to one of the best in the country during his time in South Bend.

Ledford took the Falcons offensive line and blocking scheme from the bottom of the league to the top 10 in each of the last four years. The only reason Ledford wasn't retained in Atlanta under his third different head coach is that Kevin Stefanski wanted to reunite with Bill Callahan, who is another renowned and even more seasoned coach to serve in the role on the new staff.

Once it became official that the Ravens were going with a defensive head coach in Minter, their offensive coordinator vacancy became the most desirable job, far and away. It meant that whoever got hired would get to work with a pair of future first-ballot Hall of Famers in two-time league MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson and five-time Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry, and a host of other talented, proven playmakers.

Entrusting such a responsibility for a team that is retooling to make a Super Bowl run, not tearing down to rebuild, is a tall task for Doyle, who, at 29 years old at the time of hiring, is the same age as his franchise quarterback and is officially the youngest offensive coordinator in the league. While his age and lack of previous play-calling experience at any level may be perceived as a risk to some, the Ravens wouldn't have given Minter the green light to bring him in if he hadn't reportedly blown them away during his visit to the team facility after withdrawing his name from the running for the same role with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Doyle could wind up being the best addition of the bunch in his first chance at designing and calling an offense. Although his time coaching in the league has spanned less than a decade, starting in 2019 with the New Orleans Saints where he was in charge of the run game for four years, he has been groomed and praised by two of the brightest offensive minds in the league.

One of Sean Payton's first moves when he came back to coaching after a year off was bringing Doyle over from the Denver Broncos, where he served as the tight ends coach. He was then lured to the Windy City by Bears head coach Ben Johnson and was a key in the revitalization of not only the offense but also of the franchise and second-year quarterback Caleb Williams after an underwhelming rookie season.

As far as what Ravens fans can and should expect to see from a Doyle-led and orchestrated offense, there will likely be elements of the best parts of the schemes he helped his mentors build up and expound on. There will be even more balance between run and pass than there was when Todd Monken was calling plays and more creativity in critical situations on later downs and in the red zone. Even if Isaiah Likely departs in free agency, their multiple tight end sets with three-time Pro Bowler Mark Andrews, Charlie Kolar, if he is re-signed, and what will likely be at least one rookie, are going to be heavily featured.

Key retentions shouldn't get overlooked

In addition to bringing in new young blood, Minter has also done a good job of retaining some key members of not just the coaching but the training staff as well, which has garnered deserved praise. He held onto senior special teams coach Randy Brown, who has groomed some of the greatest and most technically sound specialists not only of their era but of all time.

While some fans questioned whether he should be brought back after some of the costly struggles rookie kicker Tyler Loop dealt with, they can't refute the fact that punter Jordan Stout blossomed into a Pro Bowler and First Team All Pro this past season under his tutelage.

Minter also kept inside linebackers coach Tyler Santucci, who is another rising star, a year removed from the college ranks. Other teams expressed interest in interviewing him for the same position and had their requests blocked by the Ravens, a sign of the value they believe he still brings. Santucci coached Roquan Smith to his fourth straight Pro Bowl season and had 2025 fourth-rounder Teddye Buchanan growing by the week as a 13-game starter before suffering a season-ending injury.

After several players reportedly advocated for the team to bring back as much of the training staff as possible, the Ravens retained strength and conditioning coordinator Scott Elliott and assistant strength and conditioning coach Kevin Hartman.

Injury luck regression ravaged the Ravens in 2025 after being one of the healthiest teams in the last decade, according to DVOA adjusted games lost, the year before, which hopefully means the pendulum will swing back the other way, or at least meet somewhere in the middle in 2026.