ExtremeRavens Posted 7 hours ago Posted 7 hours ago Welcome to the wild west, NFL coaches edition. Former Ravens coach John Harbaugh was the most significant name to go first, and he has already landed his next gig. Then came now-former Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, who stepped down after Pittsburgh was bounced from the playoffs at home by the Houston Texans in the wild-card round. And on Monday, the Bills fired Sean McDermott less than 48 hours after Buffalo suffered a crushing overtime loss to the Broncos in Denver. McDermott’s ousting marked the 10th coaching change among the league’s 32 teams in one season — the most in a single cycle since before the 2022 season and tied for most all-time along with the offseasons in 1978, 1997 and 2006, per ESPN. When there is this much turnover there are bound to be teams that cast a wide net in their coaching search. Baltimore is among them, with now 16 candidates having been interviewed for its opening after Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile became the latest on the docket as of Monday morning. That’s also around 10 more than the last time owner Steve Bisciotti went through this process after firing Brian Billick in 2008 before ultimately deciding on Jason Garrett then calling an audible to Harbaugh after Garrett turned down the job, though the list will begin to narrow in the days ahead. What are the Ravens ultimately looking for? “We want leaders. We want the best leader we can find,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said last week in Owings Mills. “We want somebody who’s going to hold the players accountable. We want somebody who’s an expert in Xs and Os, and we want somebody who the players can relate to, but also somebody that’s going to be firm and continue the culture that we’ve built, which we think is important.” The list has run the gamut, from former head coaches to ascendant assistants — and one candidate they interviewed, former Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, has already been hired by another team (Atlanta Falcons). It’s also an appealing situation for job seekers, given a talented roster that includes two-time NFL Most Valuable Player and quarterback Lamar Jackson and an organizational reputation that has been the envy of others for years. So where do things stand and where do they go from here? Less than 48 hours after Harbaugh was fired on Jan. 6, the Ravens began conducting their initial interviews, first virtually with Broncos Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph then quarterbacks coach/pass game coordinator Davis Webb on Jan. 8. Because the Broncos won on Saturday, though, Baltimore won’t be able to conduct in-person interviews with either — if they are finalists — until Denver is eliminated. If the Broncos and backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham beat the New England Patriots in Sunday’s AFC championship game, the Ravens can meet with either in the bye week between the conference title game and the Super Bowl. Others they have interviewed include: Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak (Jan. 9) Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy (Jan. 11) Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver and former Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury (Jan. 12) Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores (Tuesday) Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter and Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz (Wednesday) Former Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel (Thursday) Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula and Rams pass game coordinator Nathan Scheelhaase (Saturday) Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady and San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh (Sunday) Campanile (Monday) Only Stefanski, Kingsbury and McDaniel did their interviews in person after being fired from their previous team. Of that group, Baltimore will only have to wait to talk to Kubiak, Shula and Scheelhaase with their respective teams still playing. The Ravens are also bringing in Weaver for a second, in-person interview on Tuesday, according to NFL Network. Doing so would fulfill the league’s Rooney Rule requirement of in-person interviews with at least two external minority candidates, with McDaniel having been the other. Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, left, and executive vice president/general manager Eric DeCosta are in the process of narrowing down their list of coaching candidates. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) But with that number also reaching 16 — a total that DeCosta mentioned last week — it’s possible that the Ravens are now ready to winnow the list to a handful of finalists. Of course, there could be another unknown candidate or two they are looking at or have even talked to with neither side letting that information get out. Whatever the total number of interviewees is, they are being interviewed by DeCosta, along with executive vice president Ozzie Newsome and president Sashi Brown. Others in the organization are typically part of the process as well. Once they are down to a handful of finalists, the interviews will be more extensive and involve more people, including Bisciotti and possibly Jackson. Bisciotti has already spoken with Jackson, as has DeCosta, and he has been invited to be a part of the process if he wishes. Though Bisciotti made it clear that Jackson has no power in the ultimate decision, having the face of the franchise involved is of particular interest with the expectation to win a championship sooner than later. Still, the process could take some time, particularly if the coach they want to hire ends up in the Super Bowl on Feb. 8. Already, DeCosta has said he is treating it like a three-week draft, so that timetable would put a decision around the end of this month. In terms of what they are prioritizing, Bisciotti made it clear that he is not eliminating a former coach with a losing record because of circumstances. He also said he does not have a preference between an offensive or defensive coordinator. What both Bisciotti and DeCosta did make clear is the need to be able to connect with Jackson. Of the 15 available candidates, seven are offense-focused: Webb, Kubiak, Nagy, Kingsbury, McDaniel, Scheelhaase and Brady. The rest are defense-oriented. Seven — Joseph, Nagy, Kingsbury, Flores, Schwartz, McDaniel, Saleh — have also been head coaches. Only Nagy and McDaniel had winning records. But the Ravens aren’t looking at the next coach in a vacuum, either. They’re looking at filling the role with the offensive and defensive coordinator positions in mind as well, so if a candidate is able to bring in someone for one or both of those positions to marry the group together, that could be a factor in who the next coach is. It’s possible, too, that they have looked at college coaches, though none have been revealed in the interview process thus far. Whatever direction Baltimore decides to go in the coming days and weeks, though, one thing is clear: the expectation to capture the organization’s third Vince Lombardi trophy and first since after the 2012 season. “Well, it took Billick two years, and John five [years], maybe I’ll give this guy six,” Bisciotti said. “I hope we pick the kind of guy that’s going to get us there. I think we have a roster that’s capable of it. I think we have a GM that’s capable of making that roster better on the fly, and yes, I’ll be patient to that point. I’d probably give him five or six years — as long as I like everything else I see in him.” Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. Mike McDaniel, who went 35-33 over four seasons as the Dolphins' coach, is one of more than a dozen candidates for the Ravens' head coach opening. (Rebecca Blackwell/AP) View the full article Quote
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