Eric DeCosta is accustomed to high-pressure situations and long hours, but he's never been through something like the Ravens' search for their next head coach.

In the week after parting ways with John Harbaugh, the Ravens confirmed interviews with nine candidates. There have been reports of six more scheduled interviews.

DeCosta said the Ravens will have eight or nine interviews before Sunday and a couple more after that. All told, that puts the Ravens at around 20 first-round interviews.

"I'm kind of thinking of this process like it's a three-week NFL Draft," the Ravens' general manager said. "I think we are trying to get as many interviews done as we can. I've never been a part of this – only once – and we interviewed a much smaller amount of people back then."

Zoom has changed the game, making it much easier to connect with candidates virtually. While some coaches not in the playoffs or still employed by another team have reportedly already come to the Under Armour Performance Center for in-person interviews, the Ravens are compiling as much information as possible.

"I've learned a ton of football, a lot of stuff in the last week," DeCosta said. "I think my partners would say the same thing. It's been a fascinating process."

DeCosta, who is spearheading the Ravens' search process along with President Sashi Brown and Executive Vice President Ozzie Newsome, said he expects to whittle the list down to four or five finalists.

At that point, they'll come for a full day of in-person meetings, including with a larger pool of interviewers. That's the point when Owner Steve Biscoitti and (he hopes) Lamar Jackson will join in. DeCosta has texted Jackson after every interview to keep his star quarterback in the loop.

"I want very much this person to be picked by Eric and 'Oz' and 'Sash' more than me," Bisciotti said. "When I come in, when they call me in for these five [candidates], I'm going to already know why they love them. I'm going to come back, and I'm going to just give them my honest opinions, my reservations – if there are any – on individuals that may be a red flag that they didn't see. … I want these guys to be partners."

What the Ravens Want

The Ravens don't have a "type."

When the search began, Bisciotti told DeCosta and Brown that he was "very intrigued" by this year's list of candidates looking for their second crack at a head coaching job.

That list (for now) includes confirmed interviews with Jim Schwartz, Brian Flores, Kliff Kingsbury, Matt Nagy, Kevin Stefanski, and Vance Joseph, as well as reported requested interviews with Mike McDaniel and Robert Saleh.

Each had their own set of circumstances that torpedoed their first go-around as a head coach. Whether it be the lack of a quality quarterback, a dearth of overall talent, injuries, or upper-management instability, there are a host of factors that can make or break a head coach's tenure.

Bisciotti and the Ravens will take all of that into account when evaluating a coach looking for a second opportunity. "Retread" can be a dirty word, but it's not in Baltimore.

"I could say I'm disqualifying coaches with losing records, but I think you have to remember that they were the hottest coaches in their cycle, and they got jobs and they got tough jobs, and I don't think we have a tough job," Bisciotti said.

"I'm telling you, we are keen to their circumstances, and we won't let their first shot at a job influence us negatively for this one."

The other avenue is hiring an up-and-comer for their first head coaching gig. Plucking the top coordinators – often from a particular coaching tree – is a traditional path that has also had mixed results for teams over the years.

That list (for now) includes confirmed interviews with Seahawks Offensive Coordinator Klint Kubiak and Denver Broncos Pass Game Coordinator Davis Webb, and reported requested interviews with Chargers Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter, Rams Defensive Coordinator Chris Shula, Rams Pass Game Coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, Bills Offensive Coordinator Joe Brady, and Dolphins Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver, who also has the advantage of being a former Ravens player and coach.

Bisciotti built a multi-billion-dollar staffing business. When he hired a longtime special teams coach 18 years ago for his first head coaching job at any level, Bisciotti said, "I made my life on people with thin resumes."

But this time around, Bisciotti said he will lean on his more recent NFL experiences, and he's empowering DeCosta, Brown, and Newsome to lead the way. What are they looking for?

"We want the best leader we can find," DeCosta said. "We want somebody who's going to hold the players accountable. We want somebody who's an expert in X's and O's, and we want somebody who the players can relate to, but also somebody that's going to be firm and continue the culture that we've built, which we think is important."

One of DeCosta's primary questions to candidates is also about who they envision joining their staff. When it comes to hiring an offensive- or defensive-minded head coach, the Ravens "couldn't care less," Bisciotti said, because they're really evaluating what the head coach/offensive coordinator/defensive coordinator trio would be.

"I think it's not just the head coach, it's who are his coordinators, what are they going to look like, offensive line coach, secondary coach, and find the right combination of coaches that make us better," DeCosta said.

DeCosta has been bombarded with calls from agents, coaches, and media members about the Ravens' opening. He's even had some college coaches call him to express their interest.

Considering the front office, track record, culture, quarterback, star power, and more, the Ravens have virtually the consensus top job on the market. They can be choosy.

"I'm very confident we're going to get the best coach to take us to the next step," DeCosta said.

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