Anthony Weaver is no stranger to instilling a cutthroat mindset.
He did it in Miami, where he was the Dolphins' defensive coordinator for the past two seasons and made headlines for his honest assessment at a press conference.
"I'm old school - I may sit up here, I'm a nice guy, I smile, I do all those things - but all of our problems that we need to solve can be solved through violence," Weaver said. "Defensive football, at some point you draw a line in the sand, and you say, 'I'm going to set the edge. I'm going to stick my helmet under this guy's chin and I'm going to set the edge.'"
Weaver is now returning to Baltimore with that same mentality, only this time as the Ravens' defensive coordinator.
Ahead of his introductory press conference on Wednesday, Weaver sat down with "The Lounge" podcast. He said, "It means everything" to return to Baltimore after spending four seasons as a defensive lineman and three seasons as a coach with the Ravens.
Weaver also described what he wants the Ravens defense to look like this fall.
"I want out guys, when they finish the game, to [give] 60 minutes of hell," Weaver said. "When you play us, you're going to know you left a fight. We're going to try and hit everything, fly around, play connected, play together, and just do all we can to make sure that you play a game that was 60 minutes of hell."
The Ravens defense was often on the losing end of those fights last season, giving up multiple fourth-quarter leads. None were more costly than the Week 18 AFC North title game against the Steelers, when the Ravens allowed two go-ahead touchdowns in the final four minutes.
Weaver said he'll talk about the late-game miscues with his unit, but the only way to prevent them is repeated preparation and execution. He's taking the same approach as new Head Coach Jesse Minter, who said in his introductory press conference that the Ravens "will be at our best when the best is needed."
"From a situational standpoint, we'll be so locked in in what we need to get done at those particular points in the game, that it'll become habitual," Weaver said. "When we're in it, we won't feel that pressure. We won't rise to the occasion, we're just going to be what we are, which will be plenty good enough."
Weaver turned around the Dolphins' defense in his first year. Miami went from 22nd in points allowed and 10th in yards allowed in 2023 to 10th in points and fourth in yards in 2025. Miami took a step back in 2025, but that downfall was partially due to trades that shipped out some of the best players on the Dolphins defense.
Weaver will hope to provide the same spark for the Ravens defense, which allowed the 24th most yards and tied for the third-fewest sacks last season.
Minter will be the defensive play-caller, but Weaver will be a valuable asset for the first-year head coach. The partnership between the two defensive savants is already beginning to bud.
"I think it's going to be awesome," Weaver said. "I come into this with no ego, and I know Jesse's the same way. All of us are committed to one thing, and that's winning."
