Jesse Minter is the new man at the top of the Ravens organization, and he's already begun building his relationship with the player at the center of the roster, Lamar Jackson.
Minter has been in communication with Jackson as he kicks off his Ravens tenure.
"It's really special. I've had some great talks with Lamar. Really look forward to continuing to build a great relationship with him," Minter said in a one-on-one interview Thursday before being introduced to the media.
"He is the best player in the National Football League. It's been proven. He's won the awards that show that. It's our job to continue to help him grow and help him build. To have that guy behind center, you know you have a chance to win every time you take the field. I just can't wait to go to work with him, create a partnership with him, and build a team around him that help us achieve our ultimate goal."
Minter is in the process of finding his offensive coordinator to work with Jackson, which will be critical to the Ravens' success moving forward. Todd Monken, who held the job for the past three years, has been hired as the head coach of the rival Cleveland Browns.
While Minter's expertise is on the defensive side of the ball, he has a vision for what he wants the Ravens' offense to be as head coach.
"You want to build an offense that allows him to be Lamar but also at the same time utilizes all the weapons that the offense has," Minter said.
"You don't want him to have to be Superman every time the ball is snapped. I think you want to create a system that allows him to really get in the rhythm of games, have some plays where he can hand the ball off, take the pressure off him, have play action, have movements. And then when it's crunch time, know that he has the ability to be really special."
One way to help Jackson is to give him the ball more and not require him to score as often. The Ravens defense ranked 24th in yards allowed and 18th in points last season. Baltimore's offense ranked 29th in the league in offensive plays per game (57.3), in part because the defense allowed too many long drives.
"Play great defense around him. I know he's excited about that," Minter said. "We want to build the best defense in the National Football League to put around Lamar. I think his great years, he's had that."
When the Ravens' defense gave up the fewest points in the league in 2023, Baltimore's offense also thrived, finishing fourth in points scored. Jackson also took home his second MVP that season and the Ravens went to the AFC Championship game.
Minter wants to run that back, except this time get over the top and back to the Super Bowl.
"I really look forward to building a team that's together, connected, built around our best players," Minter said. "Let them do what they do best, and that certainly starts with Lamar."
