Ravens HC Jesse Minter sends warning to fellow AFC North teams

Recently hired Baltimore Ravens head coach Jesse Minter is replacing a franchise legend in John Harbaugh and is also taking over a team that missed the playoffs after it finished the 2025 regular season with a record of 8-9. 

During a Wednesday conversation with CBS Sports, Minter shared quite a bold goal for his first campaign with the Ravens. 

Jesse Minter wants to win every game against AFC North foes

"I don't want to lose to anybody in our division," Minter explained, according to Troy Montgomery of Steelers Depot. "Yeah, I hate them, in a sense, like, I respect the rivalry. When I was here prior, Mike Tomlin, who's a mentor of mine, there's a high, high level of respect for the Steelers, their organization, how they operate. The Bengals, their organization, how they operate. Cleveland, their organization, how they operate." 

Minter was referencing how he previously served as an assistant on Harbaugh's staff from 2017 through the 2020 season. Thus, Minter had a front-row seat for some epic battles involving Harbaugh's Ravens and Tomlin's Steelers. 

Most recently, the Ravens would have entered this past postseason tournament as the reigning AFC North champions had they earned a Week 18 win at Pittsburgh's Acrisure Stadium. However, Baltimore's Tyler Loop missed what would have been a game-winning 44-yard field goal as time expired. 

Jesse Minter will have a "higher level of priority" for AFC North games

In total, the 2025 Ravens suffered home divisional losses to the Bengals and the Steelers, leading up to the Week 18 matchup in Pittsburgh. On Wednesday, Minter hinted that he would view such results as unacceptable. 

"Those are the teams you need to beat to be successful," Minter added about Baltimore's fellow AFC North clubs. "There's just a higher level of priority on those teams. When you operate, when you're building your systems, it's to be able to win those games."

The Browns and the Steelers are both dealing with uncertainty regarding their offenses, while the Bengals are coming off a 6-11 campaign. If Minter can run the table against the AFC North in his first season with the club, Baltimore could stroll into the playoffs next January.