ExtremeRavens Posted Tuesday at 09:19 PM Posted Tuesday at 09:19 PM Biff Poggi, a longtime coach at Gilman and St. Frances in Baltimore, knows new Ravens coach Jesse Minter well. Poggi and Minter both worked on Michigan’s staff in 2022, with Minter the defensive coordinator and Poggi the associate head coach. Poggi left to become Charlotte’s head coach in 2023, while Minter helped lead the Wolverines to a national title that year. After a stint with the Chargers as their defensive coordinator, Minter will get his first crack at a head coaching job with Baltimore. Poggi joined the BMore Football Podcast with The Baltimore Sun’s Mike Preston and radio personality Jerry Coleman to discuss his time with Minter and what the new coach brings to the Ravens. Here’s a brief overview of his discussion on the podcast. A good first impression Minter interviewed for Michigan’s open defensive coordinator job after a season under Clark Lea at Vanderbilt in 2021. Poggi remembers the interview well. “It was a very competitive field that we were interviewing, and Jesse did an unbelievable job,” Poggi said. “So well that I called him back right after the interview and said, ‘That was tremendous.’ ” Minter got the job, and Jim Harbaugh seemingly made the right hire. Michigan ranked fifth in total defense in 2022 and first in 2023, when the Wolverines won the national title. Michigan allowed fewer than 300 yards per game in both seasons. After Harbaugh left Michigan to join the Chargers, he brought Minter with him. Los Angeles’ defense played well in his two seasons overseeing the unit. “This guy is the full package,” Poggi said. He maximizes player ability Poggi says perhaps Minter’s greatest strength in the modern era of football is his ability to maximize his players’ talents. Former players rave about Minter, who tries to tailor his scheme and style to those on his roster. He helped the Wolverines produce 13 NFL draft picks in 2024, including five on the defensive side of the ball and two defenders within the top 50 selections. In Los Angeles, he helped former Ravens edge rusher Odafe Oweh develop into a reliable sack artist over the second half of the 2025 season. Oweh had no sacks in five games with Baltimore, but finished the regular season with 7 1/2. “He has the skill set to drive your career forward,” Poggi said. “Players want to play for him.” Now a free agent, Oweh will command a significant investment from his next team after previously looking like an underachiever. “Jesse will make them money,” Minter said. “He’s going to make them better players. The statistics are going to go up. Guys get paid on that stuff. The wins are going to go up. Guys get paid on that stuff. They’re going to really love him.” Similarities to John Harbaugh and Mike Macdonald Former Ravens coach John Harbaugh, who is now with the Giants, came to Baltimore with a special teams background. Minter is viewed as a defensive genius. Both, however, are considered culture-building coaches who can engage well with assistant coaches and players. “Jesse’s a younger version of John in my view,” Poggi said. “He’s the kind of guy, who could be very much like John and be the coach for a couple of decades.” Poggi calls Minter a “sponge” and says that his adaptability as a coach makes it hard to say he’s a “disciple” of any one coach. Minter’s time under both Harbaugh brothers has shaped his philosophies, but he’s also learned from other coaches, including his dad. Rick Minter is a veteran coach with notable stops during his career as Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator and Cincinnati’s head coach. Jesse Minter is just 42 years old, and Poggi thinks the young coach could find success immediately as an NFL head coach. Poggi thinks a comparison with Seattle’s Mike Macdonald is apt. The 38-year-old Seahawks coach has his team in the Super Bowl just two seasons after working as Baltimore’s defensive coordinator. Macdonald and Minter overlapped in Baltimore as defensive assistants. “I think Jesse and Mike are very, very, very similar,” Poggi said. “I think Ravens fans can very much look forward to — and Jesse forgive me for this, don’t want to put the pressure on you — but the same kind of timeline that Mike has used.” Have a news tip? Contact Bennett Conlin at bconlin@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/BennettConlin. View the full article Quote
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