Ravens Insider: Josh Tolentino: Ravens assistants with no NFL experience tasked with big fix | COMMENTARY

[ExtremeRavens]

INDIANAPOLIS — There’s plenty about the Ravens’ new coaching staff that remains unknown.

Aside from his three coordinators, none of Jesse Minter’s assistants have spoken publicly since their hiring, leaving only job titles to fill the void. But conversations this week with players who worked closely with new defensive line coach Lou Esposito and outside linebackers coach Harland Bower offered a clearer picture of the lead assistants now entrusted with fixing one of Baltimore’s most urgent issues.

The prospects described demanding teachers who emphasize effort, accountability and connection — a trio of qualities Minter believes can help improve Baltimore’s run defense and pass rush, with Esposito and Bower now in charge of the defensive front.

For Minter, pedigree mattered less than purpose. In construction of his new coaching staff, he often used the phrases “connectors,” “teachers,” and ‘relationship-builders.”

When I asked him Tuesday at the NFL scouting combine about his decision to hire a handful of assistants directly from the college ranks, Minter emphasized that teaching ability mattered more than experience at the highest level.

“I think really good coaches are at all levels — high school, college, pro, different levels of college,” Minter said. “As you start putting together a staff, you’re looking for really good teachers, really good connectors that can be disciplined that creates discipline and allows you to push players in ways that you need to push them. I wasn’t really worried about where they came from.”

Esposito (Michigan) and Bower (Duke) were part of a group of four defensive assistants Minter brought directly from the college ranks, joining safeties coach P.J. Volker (Navy) and defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator Mike Mickens (Notre Dame). Assistant defensive backs coach Miles Taylor also was brought in from Nebraska, though his stay in Lincoln was brief after he served as a coaching fellow for the Los Angeles Chargers last season following five years at South Dakota.

Esposito replaces outgoing assistant Dennis Johnson, who joined John Harbaugh’s staff in New York, while Bower steps in for Maryland alumnus Matt Robinson, who initially also followed Harbaugh before joining Klint Kubiak’s staff in Las Vegas. Robinson and Johnson possess seven seasons of combined NFL coaching experience.

Their hiring, paired with the Ravens reuniting with defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, reflect Minter’s belief that development offers the clearest path toward fixing a defensive front that failed to meet expectations last season.

The Ravens finished with just 30 sacks, third-fewest in the NFL, and ranked 28th in pass rush win rate. The loss of defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike to a season-ending neck injury in Week 2 stripped the unit of its most disruptive presence, and the defense never fully rediscovered its ability to consistently pressure opposing quarterbacks. While the run defense improved over the course of the season, the lack of consistent pass rush and the unit’s secondary woes resulted in a No. 31-ranked pass defense.

General manager Eric DeCosta acknowledged this week what the numbers already made evident. The Ravens must improve their pass rush and overall consistency across the defensive front. Reinforcement might be en route. Before DeCosta met with reporters Tuesday, he revealed he was bunkered in his downtown Indianapolis hotel room studying a pass rusher himself.

DeCosta is charged with the personnel, but the responsibility of fixing and reteaching the front now belongs, in large part, to a pair of coaches whose reputations center around their ability to develop players and win the room.

“[Bower] is a very energetic guy,” Duke defensive lineman V.J. Anthony Jr. said. “He’s going to give you his all. He’s going to push you to your limit and then push you even more. That made the whole position room better.”

Anthony led Duke in 2025 in tackles for loss (13) and sacks (7 1/2). He credited Bower for instilling a formula that’ll stick with him in the pros as a projected mid-round pick in April’s NFL draft.

Bower, according to Anthony, loves to teach the E+R=O mental model (Events + Response = Outcome), widely used across the performance consulting space, to his players. It was drilled every day at Duke, and could follow him to Baltimore, where he inherits a pass rush group that currently features second-year player Mike Green and Tavius Robinson. Veterans Kyle Van Noy and Dre’Mont Jones are pending free agents with the league’s legal tampering period set to begin March 9.

“You can’t control the event and you can’t control your outcome, but you can always control your response,” Anthony said. “He’s been saying that since my freshman year, so that’s always stuck with me.”

Duke linebacker Wesley Williams offered another analogy when asked about intricacies attached to his former coach.

“[Bower] would chase us around the field,” the animated Williams said. “I’m not joking. He would grab you like a puppy and force you to the ball. Showing effort and grit is non-negotiable.”

Bower’s energy was paired with a personal investment that extended beyond practice. Anthony vividly remembered regular gatherings at Bower’s home, dinners at local restaurants, and even a position group trip to the local fair this past season.

All of it comes back to Bower’s commonly used E+R=O mental model that drills players on controlling their response, especially when it comes to a play-to-play basis on the football field. Too often last season, the Ravens allowed medium gains to turn into chunk plays, while they choked away several losses, including an unforgiving Week 1 stunner at Buffalo.

Michigan defensive lineman Ray Benny described Ravens coach Jesse Minter as an even more energetic coach than Mike Macdonald. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Esposito built similar trust at Michigan, where his players recalled a position coach whose effectiveness stemmed from consistency and a meticulous relationship-building process.

That certainly sounds a lot like what Minter detailed about his vision following his arrival as fourth coach in franchise history.

“My relationship with [Esposito] is good,” Michigan defensive lineman Ray Benny said. “We got really close over the past two years. That’s really big with me. I don’t really get close to too many people. Him and I had a good connection. I think he’s going to do great in the league.”

Benny compared Minter’s leadership style with former Michigan and Ravens defensive coordinator and current Super Bowl-winning Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald. In fact, he described Minter as an even more energetic coach than the reigning Super Bowl winner.

“His consistency is to come to work every day, it made us hungry,” Benny said. “We believed in [Minter] because he believed in us.”

That belief now extends to the coaches Minter chose to bring with him to Baltimore.

His own career path reflects the philosophy behind those decisions. Minter started coaching among the college ranks, first at Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Indiana State and Georgia State, before he worked his way up the assistant ladder with the Ravens from 2017 to 2020. He then willingly returned to the college level, where he refined his approach as both a strategist and a developer at Vanderbilt and Michigan between 2021 and 2023, and then returned to the NFL under Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers in 2024.

If anyone’s proven successful at transitioning back and forth, it’s Minter, and his experience should help with the coaches he’s brought along for the ride.

Minter is trusting his gut in the staff he’s assembled, regardless of collective experience. The Ravens are hoping he made the right calls.

There could be some mighty learning curves ahead for everyone involved, including Bower and Esposito. On Wednesday, we at least learned more about their approach and teaching skills through some NFL prospects who know them best.

Have a news tip? Contact Josh Tolentino at jtolentino@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200, x.com/JCTSportsand instagram.com/JCTSports. Josh appears as a host on The Sun’s “Early Birds” podcast.

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