ExtremeRavens Posted 11 hours ago Posted 11 hours ago Ozzie Newsome grew up in Muscle Shoals near the birthplace of the civil rights movement in Alabama. He remembers the days of “colored fountains” and as a sixth grader being the only African American in a newly desegregated school. When the Cleveland NFL franchise first moved to Baltimore for the start of the 1996 season, Newsome was then the executive vice president of player personnel and remembers the Ravens winning only 16 games in their first three years. If there’s a recurring theme here, it’s patience. Newsome, 69, has learned to keep quiet but confident. So now, as the Ravens struggle through a 1-5 start, he urges the same calm approach for fans. The Ravens have a favorable remaining schedule, which includes teams without proven starting quarterbacks in the New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns. Plus, the Ravens face the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals twice in their 11 remaining games. It might not be enough to get Baltimore into the postseason, but that wouldn’t be Ozzie Newsome. “We were developing and building in those first three years [in Baltimore]. We didn’t have a whole lot of resources, so we basically would have to build through the draft and we did that,” Newsome said. “And I think this team has been built through the draft, but you have to be patient. The thing about us thus far, we’ve only played one division game. “The goal every year is to win the division. So the outlook for me and how good I feel about it is based on what we did in those first three years. We can still win the division.” Talking to Newsome is like a stroll down memory lane. He gave few interviews when he was the Ravens’ general manager and even fewer now. The Ravens are celebrating their 30th season here and have had two owners in the late Art Modell and currently Steve Bisciotti, who became the majority owner in 2004. But no person is more synonymous with this franchise than Newsome, who helped lead the Ravens to two Super Bowl titles with two different coaches in 2000 and 2012. Twelve teams have yet to win the Super Bowl, and the Ravens, according to Newsome, are planning a 25-year reunion with the 2000 championship team and former defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis. Newsome’s new role, after he relinquished his previous post in 2019 to current general manager Eric DeCosta, is more about advising, consulting and watching game film. Few can break down video like Newsome, who was watching tape Wednesday of the Chicago Bears before passing on tidbits to coach John Harbaugh and his assistants. He cherishes the memories of three Hall of Fame players in left tackle Jonathan Ogden, middle linebacker Ray Lewis and safety Ed Reed, and the Ravens could be adding two more in outside linebacker Terrell Suggs and right guard Marshal Yanda. Newsome still thinks Modell has a chance as well. “I sure hope so. He deserves to be in and it hurts me that he isn’t,” Newsome said. “As for the other two, once I got [inducted] in 1999, then I knew that in watching both of those players [that they] had a chance. I mean, J.O. was so effortless out there. And then Ray, I mean you just can’t describe the way that Ray was as a player, but as a leader. So once I got in and got a chance to be around the other Hall of Famers, I had the feeling that these guys would get in at some point or get the opportunity.” Newsome remembers how tough it was to watch and grade Reed on film as a player at the University of Miami. He talks about how he tried to work a trade to get out of the No. 24 slot that the Ravens used to pick Reed, but no other teams were pursuing him. The Ravens were stuck with a player who went on to earn the prized gold jacket and bronze bust. As for Suggs and Yanda, he believes both will eventually get there. “I think they both deserve to be in, but there is a backlog of players,” Newsome said. “And so the one thing about it, I waited four years, but when you get that call, whether you get it in the first year or the fourth year, it’s unbelievable. You can’t describe it.” Newsome has no problem talking about the coaches the Ravens have hired. Ted Marchibroda was a link to the past, having coached the old Baltimore Colts from 1975 to 1979. He had success here and provided a smooth transition on the move from Cleveland, even though the team had no money to sign high-priced free agents. When the team replaced Marchibroda with former Vikings offensive coordinator Brian Billick in 1998, they got the fast-talking, car salesman type who was a bit arrogant. Billick and arrogance? Nah. Say it ain’t so. “Well, when we got Brian, he was a bit arrogant, but I mean we were a franchise that was just barely holding on,” Newsome said. “But Brian told them you can’t be scared, if you are scared, you can’t win in this league. To get Brian to come in and out talk everybody, it really gave us a little bit of an identity, The players brought into that and that helped us to get on that road that we got on.” From left, Ravens legends Ray Lewis, Ozzie Newsome and Johnathan Ogden are honored on the field during a game against the Browns at M&T Bank Stadium. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) After Billick, it was on to John Harbaugh in 2008. “John Harbaugh is all football,” Newsome said. “His dad is football, his brother is football, his sister married a basketball coach. So they are all about sports. And I knew about John because he had worked for my friend Ray Rhodes up in Philadelphia. And when we were looking for a coach, he had two things going for him. He had been a special teams coach and then [his last year with the Eagles] he went on the defensive side of the ball. So to have a coach that can walk in those two meetings and understand what needs to be done is huge. Then you just go up and you find somebody you trust with your offense.” It really does come back to patience again. Newsome was hired as the league’s first Black general manager in 2002 and remained in that capacity until 2018. When the Bears play at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday, the president and CEO of the team, Kevin Warren, is Black and so is general manager Ryan Poles, special adviser Ted Crews and Ian Cunningham, the assistant general manager who worked in the Ravens’ front office from 2008 to 2016. Newsome didn’t see these changes coming so quickly. “No, but you just see how the climate has changed in the National Football League, in America,” Newsome said. “The climate has changed because I grew up in the 60s in Alabama and being able to go back to the school like I did last weekend and be able to enjoy it like I did in 2025, I could not have enjoyed that in 1965 or ’66 or when I went there in 1974. “It started on the field. I think 65 or 70 percent of the players are African-Americans right now, and then a lot of those players are staying in the game. I think we may have four or five coaches that all played the game at some level that are on our staff right now. So I think what has happened is that the more opportunities that guys have gotten to play has allowed for us to have more opportunities for the non-playing jobs.” That hope is what gives Newsome optimism about the Ravens this season. In 2000, they went five games without scoring a touchdown but still won the title because the defense was one of the greatest in NFL history. The Ravens were as cocky as Billick, and they talked so much trash. Ask Lewis or safety Rod Woodson what they needed to win, and they would say 10 points. Game over. During that season, they faced only three teams in the regular season that finished with a winning record. Are you noticing any similarities with the Ravens’ current schedule? In 2012, quarterback Joe Flacco just got hot in four playoff games. Few will ever put up those postseason numbers again. In retrospect, Newsome has done it all throughout his career, His college coach, Paul “Bear” Bryant, once said that Newsome was the best receiver to ever attend Alabama. Like Bryant, Newsome points out some other great coaches he has worked with, including Bill Belichick, and adds that he has surrounded himself with some outstanding people, such as Jess Markison, DeCosta, George Kokinis and Joe Douglas, now senior personnel director with the Philadelphia Eagles. All franchises go through some struggling times, but the Ravens have something other teams don’t: Two Super Bowl trophies. “I have worked for two great owners,” Newsome said. “Art was here every day. Steve, he brought the franchise and has other things that he does in his life that he enjoys. He reads everything you write and everybody else will write. “So, he has questions, but you heard that song about moving on up? We have moved on up. Steve wants to have the best team, the best facilities, the best food, the best flights. So, I’m thankful that Steve has built what we call The Castle. We’ve had two different ways of winning, but you could enjoy the results just as much.” Have a news tip? Contact Mike Preston at epreston@baltsun.com, 410-332-6467 and x.com/MikePrestonSun. View the full article Quote
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