ExtremeRavens Posted 12 hours ago Posted 12 hours ago Dylan Beavers arrived Friday evening for a Birdland Caravan event at The Warehouse at Camden Yards dressed for two teams. As the highly ranked Orioles prospect discussed the excitement surrounding a new manager and a new season, Beavers sported a black and purple Ravens hat. He purchased the cap while attending a game last season at M&T Bank Stadium. It represented a small detail that felt fitting given the moment Baltimore sports now finds itself in. For the first time in decades, the city’s two pro franchises are turning the page at the same time. The history around it, though, makes these changes feel unprecedented. When the Orioles and Ravens open the 2026 season, both teams will be led by first-year leaders: manager Craig Albernaz in the dugout and coach Jesse Minter on the sideline. Baltimore has entered a season with new leadership atop both major professional teams only twice previously — and never without the arrival of a new franchise. In 1954, the Orioles played their inaugural season in Baltimore under Jimmie Dykes, while the Colts began their second season in franchise history under coach Weeb Ewbank. The Colts ditched Baltimore for Indianapolis in 1984, leaving the city without an NFL team for more than two decades. But in 1996, the Ravens arrived with first-year coach Ted Marchibroda, while the Orioles were managed by Davey Johnson. In 2026, though, neither team is being born. Both are resetting with expectations already attached and pressure to get it right quickly. The Ravens, after finishing 8-9 and missing the playoffs, parted ways earlier this month with 18-year coach John Harbaugh, ending an era defined by culture, continuity and stability. Owner Steve Bisciotti recently acknowledged the team’s failure to reach expectations and the wide sense of disappointment hovering his franchise after two seasons of postseason regression. Bisciotti’s firing of Harbaugh and his message was clear: quality stewardship was no longer sufficient. Former Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter steps in as Ravens coach after John Harbaugh's 18 seasons. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong) What has followed deserves some acknowledgment. The Ravens conducted a deep, diverse coaching search, interviewing nearly two dozen candidates, from experienced head coaches and established coordinators to fast-rising assistants. Eventually, they narrowed their pool to a handful of candidates, a group that traveled to the team’s headquarters in Owings Mills to meet with high-ranking officials for final in-person interviews. Baltimore also didn’t rush to fill the job; Bisciotti fired Harbaugh on Jan. 6 and the Ravens announced Minter’s hiring more than two weeks later on Jan. 22. That was fine practice by general manager Eric DeCosta and Bisciotti, the founder of Aerotek, the largest privately owned staffing and recruiting company in the U.S. Now, the Ravens front office must match that diligence with urgency in everything that follows over the course of this busy offseason. On the Orioles’ side, urgency has already loudly emerged as the defining theme of the offseason. Albernaz arrived in late October after an injury-filled season forced the organization to confront the harsh reality attached to the disappointing results and Baltimore’s last-place finish in the AL East that included Brandon Hyde’s firing. Albernaz’s hiring represented a franchise attempting to modernize its top voice with player-centered care and attention. President of baseball operations Mike Elias, meanwhile, has spent this winter acting more aggressive and equally aware that the Orioles are no longer allowed to behave like a team waiting for permission to compete. Public declarations about being “buyers,” paired with ownership’s willingness to spend, has resulted in one of the most exciting offseasons in Elias’ tenure. “I felt good about this job when I initially took the job,” Albernaz said Friday. “That just speaks to the team that [Elias] and his group has constructed both in the player developmental side and acquisition side. They’re identifying how to make our team better.” The Ravens are standing at a similar point in their own reset. Baltimore has already taken the most difficult step by disrupting the most stable structure in franchise history. Harbaugh is Baltimore’s winningest coach, with a resume that boasts an overall record of 193-124, a dozen playoff appearances (including four appearances in the AFC championship game) and just three losing seasons. Enter the Minter era. It will be defined by how aggressively the Ravens support Minter, through staff construction, roster building and the willingness to address weaknesses instead of navigating around the issues. The same urgency Elias has shown surrounding the club’s offseason moves directly related to the Orioles’ competitive window, is the kind of aggression Eric DeCosta must continue to display as the Ravens move deeper into the offseason. While the Ravens have been reluctant to spend much in free agency, preferring to draft, develop and reward their in-house talent, this all is about mindset. We’ll hear exactly more on that from DeCosta and Minter on Thursday during Minter’s introductory news conference. New Orioles manager Craig Albernaz takes over a team starved for postseason success. (Kim Hairston/Staff) Amid what pitcher Tyler Wells described as “the most intense offseason” he’s been part of, the Orioles’ message this winter has been actually quite simple: tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, and waiting rarely pays off. After Albernaz’s hire, the club’s aggression and urgency throughout the offseason has resulted in loud excitement ahead of spring training and the 2026 season. After hiring Minter, will the Ravens follow suit and create a similar level of elation across the city? Back at Camden Yards, Beavers eventually moved on to the next stop on the Caravan, still wearing the Ravens hat as he continued discussing a new staff and a season that hasn’t arrived yet. It feels uncommon across major sports towns, but two teams in the same city are similarly navigating unfamiliar waters. The Orioles and Ravens are moving forward without much precedent, two organizations going through major changes at the top while still embedded in Baltimore. There’s no particular roadmap for what comes next — just two beloved franchises finally willing to find out. That alone is worth embracing. Have a news tip? Contact Josh Tolentino at jtolentino@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200, x.com/JCTSports and instagram.com/JCTSports. View the full article Quote
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