OWNER STEVE BISCIOTTI AND EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & GENERAL MANAGER ERIC DECOSTA
Steve Bisciotti Opening Statement: "Thank you for coming. Obviously, we don't do these very often. A lot of you have put your heart and soul into this team, and we appreciate most of it. I don't really have anything to tell you that's not going to come out in your questions, so if you've got anything, [executive vice president & general manager] Eric [DeCosta]."
Eric DeCosta Opening Statement: "Thanks for coming, first of all. I think, from my perspective, it was a very disappointing season, but also, we see great opportunity moving forward. We're very excited about this process ahead of us and building this team to be the very best we can be. I'm excited about that moving forward this spring. Our players are excited, and we plan on getting back to the standard that we've set."
Whenever you fire a coach after 18 years, there's a lot of speculation as to why and the reasons behind it. For you, what was the biggest reason that led to your decision, and when exactly did you make the decision to fire John Harbaugh? (Jamison Hensley)
(BISCIOTTI) "I staked out a position that I thought I had come to with a lot of thought and a lot of prayer, and I gave it a lot of time, too. I think I talked to you, [Eric DeCosta], three or four weeks ago, and I guess the hardest part was the reasons and unfortunately, most of these can't get traced back to John [Harbaugh], necessarily, but factually, we led the league in giving up big leads in the fourth quarter. It's not something that winning organizations do. We have underperformed based on our seeding in the playoffs, [which is] very disappointing. [There were] a lot of players involved – a lot of our great players involved making mistakes that they don't make during the regular season very often. But I just thought it was something that in the last 10 years, we've won the third-most games in the NFL, and yet people were saying we were underachievers, and so we were, and we had to own that. And I really can't tell you the actual time, but sometime last week, I wasn't 100% sure until, really, after the loss, and I fell on my instincts, and whatever I was feeling was right. I woke up Monday, and I was pretty sure that I was going to do it. And I have great partners here, and I spent a lot of time with them and asking them their opinions. And I made the decision, and it was a hard one. As you all know, in your life, timing is never right. You can't say that timing is perfect in anything. But I got to the point that I didn't believe that I would feel regret after I made that decision. And that's what instinct is. When you finally get to the point that you're pretty damn sure that you are not going to regret the decision a day or a week later, then that's the time to make the decision. Is that fair?"
Did you speak with QB Lamar Jackson before you made the decision, and how would you characterize the influence he or other players' opinions on the situation had on your decision? (Jeff Zrebiec)
(BISCIOTTI) "Yes, I talked to a bunch of the veterans. And, it's funny, as you all know, you've gotten to know Lamar [Jackson] about as well as I have, and Lamar is really, really a non-confrontational person. And when I spoke to him Monday night, he said to me, 'Everybody is saying I have a problem with [offensive coordinator Todd] Monken. I don't really have a problem with 'Monk', and I don't know where that comes from,' and he says, 'Then I hear [that] I've got a problem with 'Harbs' [John Harbaugh], and I don't have a problem with 'Harbs.' I don't know where that comes from. We have to make changes, probably, but that's probably more for you and 'E' [executive vice president and general manager Eric DeCosta].' And I said, 'Well, your opinion matters,' and we talked about it. But again, he was one of many. So, I don't think that the players had really a large part of my decision. My partners here, probably had ... That's an 80/20 thing, and I don't think I'd be a very good leader if I didn't ask the heads of, you know, the top players in my organization that have been here the longest, and you can bet they're the ones that have been here the longest. So no, Lamar [Jackson] did not have an outsized part of my decision. My decision, I think by Monday, was pretty much set. And I think by the time I got off the phone with Lamar, I had told him that I think my position was pretty set, but [I said], 'When I hang up from you, I don't want you to think the decision is ironclad.' So, that was Monday night."
You've known John, obviously, a very long time. You're very close. Why did you make the decision to fire him initially over the phone, and then secondly, what was the gist of the conversation that you guys had a couple days later? (Brian Wacker)
(BISCIOTTI) "Yes, good question. I never dreamed of firing somebody by phone. But the reality is, when I made my decision on Tuesday afternoon, I was at home, and [John Harbaugh] was in his car heading to his house, and I thought it would kind of be a jerk move to call him up and say, 'Hey, Coach, meet me at the office in an hour.' He probably would have said, 'Yes, Steve. I'd rather not. Why don't you just tell me over the phone?' And when I did tell him the decision that I made, I said, 'I'm really sorry about doing this over the phone. I wish we were together.' And he said, 'You don't owe me an apology for that, either.' Did I answer your whole question?"
Can you talk about the conversation you had on the phone a couple days later? (Brian Wacker)
(BISCIOTTI) "Yes, it was interesting because, obviously, it was emotional. And I'll be honest with you, most of that emotion came from me. I told my brother [that] it was the craziest firing in the world. I was the one choked up, and [John Harbaugh] was the one consoling me. He said, 'You don't owe me anything,' and you can picture John. 'You don't owe me anything,' He said, 'You gave me 18 years.' He said, 'You picked a special teams guy. Who does that?' He said, 'You altered mine and Ingrid's life forever because you took a chance on me. I am happy and content and disappointed, but I love you and I respect you, and I respect your decision.' And, at the time, it was not something that I was going to spend a lot of time with. And so I called him on Thursday, and I left a message, and I said, 'Hey, I'm around for the next few hours. I'd love to talk.' And he texted me back. He said, 'I'll call you in about 30 minutes.' And we had a really good conversation. And, interestingly, he didn't talk about the details. I talked about the negative narratives of things that we own together, and I said [that] probably one of the things that made it easier for me once I came to this conclusion is [that] I didn't have to worry about whether you were going to land on your feet, because I think either your toes or your heels are already touching, and you're going to become the most sought-after coach in in years, and then I talked to him about taking a year off. I said, 'You're 63 years old. Alison just went to law school. You're an empty nester. If you go to work for somebody else, I get offset, so I'm saving a whole lot of money, but I'd be more than happy to give you a very expensive, paid vacation for a year if you and Ingrid would pray on that and come to the decision that you could go out and travel and golf together and rifle.' She's a marksman now, and they do love to travel when they're free. I said a whole year of that at 63 is a lot different than if you take another job, and [your next opportunity for that is] at 75. And as we get older, you start realizing that five-year chunks are changes in your life. And so I really, really, really would have hoped that he took a year off out of this crazy business that you work 80 hours a week and got a chance. Because I said, 'Like your friend Sean Payton, you'll still be the hottest coach next year, and you can do a little broadcasting, and you can do a little traveling and then you can get back into it.' So, it sounds like from what I'm reading now, he's not going to do that, but he's also interviewing in a real, real position of strength. So, if he doesn't like what he sees, and he doesn't like the organization, once he digs in, you can bet he's not going to take a job that doesn't have a quarterback. He's a little too old to be sitting around saying, 'What's the Draft look like? How many picks do you have? Let's start studying those college quarterbacks.' So, I only thought there were a couple jobs out there. I told him the one that I thought he should take, and we'll see if I manifest correctly."
This is only the second time you'll have to go through the process with your leadership team to hire a head coach because you've had so much success in 18 years. Are you essentially telling your next head coach you need to get to the Super Bowl fast? (Gerry Sandusky)
(BISCIOTTI) "Well, it took [Brian] Billick two years, and [it took] John [Harbaugh] five [years], [so] maybe I'll give this guy six (years)." (laughter) "I don't know. I hope we pick the kind of guy that's going to get us there. I think we have a roster that's capable of it. I think we have a GM that's capable of making that roster better on the fly, and yes, I'll be patient to that point. I'd probably give him five or six years – as long as I like everything else I see in him."
Eric, can you talk about how important it is for this organization to resign QB Lamar Jackson to a contract extension this offseason? (Ryan Mink)
(DeCOSTA) "Well, it would certainly give us more flexibility, cap-wise [and] roster building-[wise]. I think that we've done a good job. We carried over this year just over $10 million in money, [which is] probably double what we have in the last however many years, I think. We do have a nice little nest egg. It's not as much as we'd like. A deal with Lamar [Jackson] would give us the ability to be more active, to re-sign some more players on the team and to potentially go after a couple of big-ticket items. We haven't traditionally done that. We've been more reserved when it comes to free agency. We like the amount of draft picks we have this year. We do have money to go out and re-sign guys – free agents that we have right now; [they are] some good players, certainly – but having more money would be helpful, for sure."
I know it's the early days in the coaching search, but is there anything that you have decided that you want to prioritize in hiring the next coach, and is there anything that could be disqualifying for the successor to John Harbaugh? (Jonas Shaffer)
BISCIOTTI: "No, it's kind of interesting because when we started focusing on this, the very first thing that I said to [executive vice president and general manager] Eric [DeCosta] and [president] Sashi [Brown] was that unlike 18 years ago, I am very intrigued by coaches that were the hottest offensive and defensive coordinators from five, six or seven years ago in their cycles and got jobs and went to teams that were non-competitive and didn't have a quarterback, and they grind for three or four years, and they're caught up in the cycle of many of my partners that are turning these – I think it's an average [of] four years [for a head-coaching] career – I think the head coach is about four years, as we proved – I think we've got a quarter [open jobs] now, about eight or nine. So, the one thing that I know that I will probably take it on the chin is if our final candidate is an ex-[head] coach who has a losing record, and you all are going to have to understand that we are going to be able to judge that failure with his circumstances and marry that up and not disqualify them. So, it's interesting that you said if there is anything that's disqualifying – where we are, 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. I think that we created the best opening in this cycle, and so, that was the one category that I didn't want to ignore, because the first thing you all are going to say is, 'My God, he went 38-48 in his last job, and they're hiring him.' When Tony Dungy said, 'This is a bad decision,' and, 'Good luck finding someone better than John [Harbaugh].' I literally wanted to call Tony and say, 'Do you remember John 18 years ago? How can you take our success and use it against me while we're out trying to find the next John Harbaugh?' That's impossible. So, if I hire an offensive coordinator or a defensive coordinator, none of you can say anything about his poor record the first time he was a head coach. And so, it'd be very easy for me to try and avoid those ex-head coaches because they have losing records, but 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. As far as offensive and defensive coordinator, I really couldn't care [less], because you're bringing in three people. So, I don't think that it matters for our offense whether a defensive head coach brings in a wiz of an offensive coordinator, or [if] we fall in love with an offensive coordinator and hire him as a head coach, because he's going to go then back and get an offensive coordinator, and then what that brings up is who's going to call plays, right? Whether it's the coach that comes in as an offensive coordinator or the offensive coordinator that he picks, which seems to be happening a lot lately. I believe we have a dozen or so that call their own plays [that are] head coaches, right? On defense and offense? Maybe more than a dozen? It's a lot."
When you make a decision like you did with John, the question is going to come up about the general manager as well. What is your evaluation of Eric [DeCosta], especially coming off of this year and your expectations for him? And also, when you're making this hire, will the chain of command remain the same? Will the GM and head coach both answer directly to the owner? (Luke Jones)
(BISCIOTTI) "Yes, that's a great question. The hits and misses in this business, I think you have to average them out. I think [executive vice president and general manager] Eric [DeCosta] is one of the best GMs in the league, and so, I think he's batting .800. I'm just making up a number for you, but I'm not going to look at Eric's 200 whiffs. I'll look at his 800 singles and doubles and home runs. To me, that's fair. I'm very, very pleased with Eric. I know that Eric has been very, very introspective about his failures and how they contributed to our dear friend being shown the door, and so, nobody's harder on himself than Eric. So, I think I can leave him alone for a while and focus on what we've got here with an empty chair. What was your second question?"
Will the chain of command remain the same? (Luke Jones)
(BISCIOTTI) "That's a really good question. I've talked to [President] Sashi [Brown] about it. I haven't really talked to Eric [DeCosta] about it. I don't spend nearly as much time around here as I did, but when I had both John [Harbaugh] and Eric and Ozzie [Newsome] reporting to me, it came naturally in 2008 that they would both report to me, and it never dawned on me ... If Ozzie had come to me and said, 'What do you mean John [Harbaugh] reports to you? I've been here forever. I've already built a Super Bowl team. I think he should report to me.' I think I would've just said, 'Yes, OK.' I don't think it really matters. The reason why I ask if you were here is, I don't ever remember that. The theory is you two battle it out and if you ever come to a standoff, I'll be the tying vote. Did it ever happen?" (Executive Vice President Ozzie Newsome: "No.")
(BISCIOTTI) "Not once. So, I don't know that I need to burden [executive vice president and general manager] Eric [DeCosta] with that. I think that this is such a partnership that I don't think that power of one over the other is necessarily a good thing, because then the coach goes into every argument feeling like he doesn't have half the power. So, I think it works, even though I work remotely – I started long before COVID; I invented working remotely." (laughter)
You were just talking about what you're looking for in coaches and that there aren't any disqualifications. I am curious, are you strictly looking at NFL head coaching candidates? Are you dismissing college coaches? And how much input will guys like QB Lamar Jackson and the veterans that you spoke to before moving on from John Harbaugh have? (Cordell Woodland)
(BISCIOTTI) "Well, I talked to Lamar [Jackson] last night, and I told him that he and I were both lucky because I found out in the nick of time that there was an NFL rule that if I did one Zoom with one of the 16 [candidates], If I did one, I had to do them all. Now, working remotely makes that extremely difficult. So luckily [Eric DeCosta] got me and said, 'You have to do them all if you do one,' and I said, 'Then I'm not doing this first one.' So, like the first time, I want four or five candidates. To answer your college question – I really don't know. I don't know how hard that would be. I know that there's been a couple of college coaches that have reached out to us. We did not reach out to college coaches, but if I was a college coach dealing with that portal and the NIL, I'd be at my doorstep. I can't imagine what these guys are going through. I'm friends with some college coaches, and it's a living hell. So, if Eric's interested in a college coach, he's welcome to interview him. [What was your] second question?"
The second one was about just how much feedback would you get from guys like QB Lamar Jackson and other leaders on the team in terms of their input with the process? (Cordell Woodland)
(BISCIOTTI) "I think that [executive vice president and general manager] Eric [DeCosta] made it clear to Lamar [Jackson] that, when we get down – he's talking to him; I think he's texting Lamar after every interview, whether it's Zoom or in person, and I think he's getting some opinions from Lamar. I said to Lamar last night, when they call me up from Florida, you better get your ass up here, too, because if you want to do the interviewing, these are going to be full-day meetings like they were 18 years ago, and they go from department to department to department. So, I said to Lamar that you can jump on my plane or find another way to get up there, but if you're that interested, then we're going to get a schedule, he's going to call me up, [and] he's going to offer you the same luxury. And I said, 'I hope you take it.' And he said, 'Yes, sir. I think I will.' So, we'll find out."
I just saw these reports that former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has stepped down in Pittsburgh. (Mike Preston)
(BISCIOTTI) "He did? Is it official?" (Reporter: That's what I keep hearing. So, is he a candidate here?) "Holy shit, wouldn't that be awesome? Only if John [Harbaugh] takes the Pittsburgh job. Wow. Wouldn't that be interesting? I don't know. That thing [chest pound, blown kiss he did] last week maybe disqualified [former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin] from my opening after our kicker [Tyler Loop] missed the kick to let them advance [to the playoffs]. Good for Mike. I don't know. Talk to [Eric DeCosta]. I love Mike. I've admired Mike for 18 years, and that's really shocking that he did it that way. Yes, that's kind of crazy. I didn't know that. I'll leave that to 'E' [Eric DeCosta]. Wow."
We heard from former head coach John Harbaugh that DT Nnamdi Madubuike would provide his own update, but we haven't really gotten an update in a while. Do you still expect him to share what's going on, or do you have any update on his situation? (Giana Han)
(DeCOSTA) "I can't really discuss that, obviously. I will say, not having Nnamdi [Madubuike] this year was a horrible situation for our team. I think it affected us in different ways – in many ways. He is a great player, a great person [and] a special person. [We are] still working through a lot of his different ideas and things [so] that we can hopefully get more and more information about his situation. But more than that, I think just – I couldn't talk about the specifics of him and his situation."
Steve Bisciotti kind of brought up Eric DeCosta's role with the roster construction and the season going the way it did and the result that happened with former head coach John Harbaugh. What do you see as the biggest roster failures and disappointments on your end with this team? (Morgan Adsit)
(DeCOSTA) "Well, honestly, when you underachieve, you can blame a lot of things. You look at a lot of situations and players, I think. We didn't play consistently from game to game. Some games, the offense played well, [and] the defense didn't perform well. Some halves, the offense look good, and the defense didn't. [It was] half to half. I think generally speaking, we've got to do a better job of creating pressure on defense – that will help the secondary, I think, being complementary on defense that way. Getting after it [and] affecting the quarterback – affecting the pocket would be something big. I know the offensive line seemed to be a narrative this year. In some games, I thought the [offensive] line played well, [and] in other games we struggled. I think we have pieces. I think we've got to be more consistent on the offensive line. We just didn't gel quite as much this year in that way, and yet I say that, and I think we led the league in rushing, maybe, and that was with less quarterback-driven runs. So, I don't think it's one specific thing. I think we underachieved as a scouting staff, as a coaching staff and as players. I think [it was] across the board, and we have to own that, and I think we will. We're excited about it. We've been in this position before, many times over the last 30 years where we've had to rebuild and tweak and change and adjust and really look at ourselves and say, 'What can we do better?' I think it starts with me; it starts with the new coaching staff; and I think the players will be accountable as well."
(BISCIOTTI) "I think the coaches have to take a lot of that, too, because I think that sitting here last year, everybody said that it was our offensive line and our pass rushing because [executive vice president and general manager] Eric [DeCosta] had to replace three offensive linemen, and he did it, and it worked well. And I think we finished second in sacks last year after everybody was calling [those] our two weaknesses. We got in here, and those were the exact same things that everybody said. I think [Nnamdi] Madubuike is part of the reason why Kyle Van Noy went from 10.5 [or] 12 sacks to two. I think it was a domino effect; I think it was a trickle effect. I think Travis Jones being – with Broderick [Washington Jr.] gone and Madubuike gone, God bless Travis. I think he did the very best he could, but if he'd had Madubuike next to him, he'd have been singled all year long, and instead, they were able to double him all year long. And I think those offensive linemen didn't improve. And so, when I said the coaches, that's what I meant. I think that you can look at a lot of guys on our team that we had expected to take the next step that did not take that next step. And we've got to get to the bottom of that with coaching and scouting."
How important are fan voices when it comes to crafting big decisions? Did seeing empty seats at halftime at some of these games or a primetime failure this year after you guys go through all that you do to put on an incredible spectacle for that game. How important was that? And how do you gauge it when social media can be a really loud voice but a very small minority. How do you go about doing that, and how important is it? (Pete Gilbert)
(BISCIOTTI) "It is not that important. I just don't know. I know the volume [of our fans] went up this year, and I know the majority of that turned on [former head coach] John [Harbaugh], and I think it did affect me. It was one of the things that I'm putting together. I'll be honest with you, when you say the effect it had, you what effect it had on me? I couldn't stand people attacking my friend. So, some of the stuff that they talked about with John ate me alive. And so, like I said, part of my feeling like when my instinct says 'Now's the time,' It was, 'I get to relieve John of all that crap,' too, and John gets to start anew, and John gets to be everybody's No. 1 choice to be [their head coach]. And so, I kind of thought again that it was – there is never a good time, but we went backwards the last three years. That, to me, was a bigger thing. But they're putting that on John and John and John and John. And so, part of it, to me, was ... If the narrative is that bad, then we need to shake it up. And again, knowing that John didn't have far to fall, it made it much easier for me to make that decision, right? Because I knew it wasn't going to hurt him that bad. And when I talked to him on Thursday, gosh, he was giving me advice to the Ravens, and I was giving him advice to these [head coach] openings. We're going to be friends forever. And now, I know John went from being hammered by the press, and I don't know how much Ingrid [Harbaugh] reads, but I'm sure she does. We've got some protective mama bears out there that don't like their husbands being treated like that. But because it's so anonymous, it's really a major accumulation that I see there. But a lot of them are talking the truth, if you will. In other words, an AFC Championship to Division Round to not making the playoffs; we own that. That's us. And so, unfortunately John was the one to take it, but if I had fired Eric [DeCosta], he'd have been the hottest GM available in this cycle, too. And so, John was the one to go, but it's not a major factor for me. It really isn't. It's our world here, and I think that I'm pretty good at keeping my major decisions close to home."
As you go through this search process in looking for the next head coach, what can you share about what's happening in order to conduct this search process and what you're looking for as you narrow down the list to the group of finalists? (Garrett Downing)
(DeCOSTA) "Well, fortunately I think we were prepared ahead of time, which was good. We started a day late compared to some of our opponents who started on Monday. We started, really, on Tuesday or Tuesday night. We want leaders. We want the best leader we can find. 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. And as we've gone through our first seven or eight interviews that we've had, it's apparent that this is a job that coaches covet, number one. They appreciate the roster that we have. They admire this organization for the continuity that [owner] Steve [Bisciotti] and Mr. [Art] Modell before him put in place, and they see that this is really a destination place for coaches. So, I think we're going to be in a good position. There's a lot of interest. I've never been through this process like this. I had no idea how many phone calls that I would get – from agents, from coaches, people in the media, the national media, the local media – there's just tremendous interest in this particular opportunity. And I feel very confident with our people, with our staff, with Steve – who is an expert in finding people – with [executive vice president] Ozzie [Newsome], who has done this before and found a Hall of Fame coach, along with Steve. [And with] some of the other [Ravens executives] sitting up here, I'm very confident we're going to get the best coach to take us to the next step."
Do you sense an urgency from QB Lamar Jackson to sign another extension? And, are you 100 percent sold that you want him to be the central figure in the organization for the foreseeable future? (Childs Walker)
(BISCIOTTI) "I want [Lamar Jackson] to be my quarterback. I told him his extension was ... We had some mechanism to keep him in place three years ago that we don't necessarily have now. So, I need to make sure that there's only one way. If he doesn't want to do an extension, then we throw those 74 million out into void years, and Lamar's coming back at the same cap number he was last year. You can play with that money all you want. That's not what we want. We want another window, and Lamar knows that. I think that he's amenable to doing something that mirrors the last deal he did, although the annual number will be a little higher, but I'm hoping that it's [going to be] plug a new number into the same contract he signed last year and move on. And the urgency of that matters to me because we've got free agents, and I don't want to go into free agency with that hanging over our head. And I made that clear to Lamar, and I think he was very appreciative of my stance, and hopefully willing to work with [executive vice president and general manager] Eric [DeCosta] and not get this thing dragged out into April like it was the last time. It was very hard for [Eric DeCosta] to build a roster when that thing is not settled."
You spent many years running a staffing company. Are there any experiences or lessons that you learned from that chapter that you can pull with this coaching search? (Garrett Dvorkin)
(BISCIOTTI) "I think I used them 18 years ago to pick [former head coach] John [Harbaugh]. So, I've gotten a lot of nice texts from some of the leaders; most of them are all retired by now. Those were those thin resume guys that I talked about when I introduced John and said, 'I made my life on people with thin resumes.' So, no, I think [with] most of my recent experience in the NFL will be what I'm looking for. I kind of am a little more tied into what that means. Let me be clear: I am much more interested in the guys, like [president] Sashi [Brown] and [executive vice president and general manager] Eric [DeCosta] and [executive vice president] Ozzie [Newsome], that are working with this guy 70 hours a week, than maybe I was back then. I was much more engaged. I was engaged in the NFL. I had risen to the top of the committees in the broadcast committee and digital media committee. Back then, [I] probably thought my participation was going to – I dreamed of a gold jacket like the [Giants' owners] Mara's and the [Steelers' owners] Rooney's. That kind of dissipated as I realized that I was maybe being untrue to my wife when I told her that when I bought this team, I would treat it like more of a hobby than a business. I think I found myself maybe treating it a lot more like a business, and again, putting family second. So, there was a time in [20]'10, '11, and '12, when I realized that in order to earn a gold jacket as an owner, you better be putting in those 70-hour weeks, and I wasn't willing to do that. So, when I stepped back from that – and I'm very happy I did. I had enough time to care about the Ravens, and I figured the NFL could survive without me. So, I want very much this person to be picked by Eric and 'Oz' [Ozzie Newsome] and 'Sash' [Sashi Brown], more than me. 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 give just them my honest opinions, my reservations – if there are any – on individuals that may be a red flag that they didn't see. So, I would hope that when I spend a lot of time with these people, that I might unearth some things; which I think I'm really good at unearthing some details that maybe others missed. I think that I'd like to feed that into them, and if it changes their Top Five, then great. And if it doesn't, I want these guys to be partners. I mean what John and Eric and Ozzie went through these last 10 years – I love John like a brother, but I didn't work side by side with him all day long. So, I know that this is the hardest thing that we've ever had to do. I don't think any one of you think we blame John, completely, for our falling off our quest for Super Bowls."
I do have a two-part question for you. (Jerry Coleman)
(BISCIOTTI) "I knew you would. I'm surprised you didn't have a four-part question." (laughter)
If they would allow me, I would. If K Tyler Loop makes that field goal, is John Harbaugh still here coaching this team? (Jerry Coleman)
(BISCIOTTI) "For a week."
For a week? OK. Then, I guess a follow up, because it's been a while. What was your role, what was your input with the whole former Ravens K Justin Tucker situation and how that went down and led to K Tyler Loop being here? We haven't heard from you about that, so I was anxious to hear. (Jerry Coleman)
(BISCIOTTI) "None."
When the reports came out. How did you take all that? What was your reaction? (Jerry Coleman)
(BISCIOTTI) "I deferred to [executive vice president and general manager] Eric [DeCosta] and [former head coach] John [Harbaugh]."
Do you think if K Justin Tucker were here, it would've been different? (Jerry Coleman)
(BISCIOTTI) "No. Do you mean do I think [Justin Tucker] would've made the kick? Yes, maybe."
(DeCOSTA) "How do you know? How do you know?"
(BISCIOTTI) "How do you know? I feel terrible for Tyler [Loop]. He's going to be a great kicker. He's going to learn from this. Every one of them have learned from those mistakes. [Kicker] is a terrible job; I mean, a terrible job in the NFL. It really is. You have to work twice as hard to earn people's respect, and then they can hate you in a second. So, I think that kid's resilient enough from what I've learned, and he'll be our kicker next year."
(DeCOSTA) "[Tyler Loop] did a great job, came in [to fill] big shoes. [It was] a lot of pressure. He had a great season."
Is there a timeline that you have in mind while you're doing several of these head coaching interviews throughout the next week or so? Just because in the sense that they have to then create their own staff as well, I guess, which is sort of assumed, but is that the case that there is a timeline just because of everything that happens afterwards as well? (Valerie Preactor)
(DeCOSTA) "So, I'm kind of thinking of this process like it's a three-week NFL Draft. I've been through a lot of Drafts, and so this is expedited certainly, but 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. We didn't have the ability back then to even use Zoom; we didn't know what Zoom was. The rules right now kind of force us into that Zoom world, and so we're taking advantage of it. I've learned a ton of football, a lot of stuff in the last week. I think my partners would say the same thing. It's been a fascinating process. We have, I think, another eight interviews, maybe nine interviews between now and believe it or not, Sunday, and maybe a couple more after that. Then, we'll kind of take that list of 15 to 20 interview candidates, whittle that down to four or five, try to assemble as a group and figure out the five guys that really resonate with us that have the most qualities that we're looking for. [Then] craft what that schedule might look like, bring those guys in again for a day. We've had a couple guys on site, but bring those other five candidates in, talk to them with maybe a few other people in the loop as well, and then see if we can find a candidate. I think staffing-wise, again, given the rules, it's very hard for coaches to really fill out their staffs until really around the Super Bowl. It's challenging, and now it's not as easy as it used to be in a lot of different ways. I go back to when Seattle hired [head coach] Mike McDonald. They waited until after we played in the AFC Championship to interview him for the first time. So, we're ahead of the game, I think in many ways. We've talked to some really good candidates. We've asked them about assistant coaches; that's typically a question that you might ask. What's your staff going to look like? We've been able to get a lot of good information on what their coaching staffs might look like. Then, the strategy for us is to really look at, and again, 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."
You mentioned having some level of patience for the new head coach. So, what will your measures of success be to determine if things are moving forward as you envision for the organization? (Carita Parks)
(BISCIOTTI) "Well, if we fail, then I'll assess his contribution to that failure, because like I said, this is an 'all hands on deck.' When we fail, we fail together. And so, yes, it's [executive vice president and general manager] Eric [DeCosta]'s job to mentor him and guide him in our culture, hope he understands it and can add to that culture. What we do on the field, it will play a role, but I certainly hope to get back to the playoffs, and I certainly hope to overachieve. So, it's really hard for me, because I'm not doing this ... I'm not doing this to be back like some of my partners doing this every three or four years. To me, that's hell on Earth. So, we're going to make it right, and we're going to make it so right that we're going to have a lot of patience. Is that fair to say? We're going to be so confident in our choice that we're going to grant him a decent amount of patience."
It seems like you've been in touch with QB Lamar Jackson a lot it sounds like. I'm curious, the communication between Lamar and the coaching staff, was that where it needed to be this past season, do you think? And I guess, how much of a priority is that when you're sort of going through your interview process with prospective coaches? (Noah Trister)
(DeCOSTA) "Well, I think communication can always be better. Just if you think you're a great communicator, then you need to be a better communicator. You have to overcommunicate; I believe in that. I think sometimes maybe people will get sick of the fact that I might say, 'Make sure we do this, make sure we do this, make sure we do this. What do you think about this?' And it has to be that way. I think with players, especially, they're looking for feedback. They want to have a voice, but you also have to encourage the feedback and encourage the voice and work and set expectations and hold people accountable every single day. That's what the most successful organizations do on a consistent basis, whether that's with your star quarterback or your third-string inside linebacker; you have to set expectations, hold players accountable, foster a relationship where they love this place and love this culture, and football's the most important thing in their lives. That starts with our scouts selecting the right players, our coaches coaching these players, developing these players and our players living up to the faith that we put in them."
You mentioned [executive vice president and general manager] Eric DeCosta, [executive vice president] Ozzie Newsome and [president] Sashi [Brown] being involved in this process; those are guys, obviously, that you're very familiar with. When you're interviewing candidates, how important is familiarity to this organization, or do you believe a fresh start completely is something that's needed? (Alex Glaze)
(BISCIOTTI) "Yes, that's a really cool question. It's like we've interviewed people that have been with us like [Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator] Anthony Weaver, and I would think that he would be pretty impressive in his interview, because of the time he spent here. So, you're kind of handicapping, fairly, a person that has seen us from afar, but has no intimate knowledge of us. I think [executive vice president and general manager] Eric's [DeCosta] really good at handicapping that knowledge to the lack of knowledge. So, I would hope that Eric's not swayed by someone who has a lot of knowledge of our organization. I hope they don't take the poll position, because they might be a better interview, because they have such intimate knowledge. I think Eric's pretty smart and capable of handicapping that knowledge and taking it out of it when he's looking at them as equals."
Correct me if I'm wrong; I think you've said in the past you don't view the Ravens as a family heirloom. You sort of have some urgency and desire, and obviously, you don't make a change like you did with former head coach John Harbaugh without feeling competitive fire, so it's clear that you're feeling that. What's your current vision of how your ownership will progress and what your ownership looks like in the next 10 to 15 years based on how you're feeling now? (Kyle Goon)
(BISCIOTTI) "I'll be 80. I don't see myself being ... All my friends, all my favorite people in the league 25 years ago were younger than I am now, and so, when I watch [Cowboys owner] Jerry [Jones] and [Patriots owner] Bob [Robert Kraft], I still love them to death. They've always been there for me. They were younger than I was when I met them and joined this league, so I know that's always been a topic of conversation – 'how long am I going to' – because I kind of always said ... Well, I'm not passing it down to the family. I made that decision 25 years ago. I don't think that's healthy for my family. I've seen families feud and ruin over these damn teams, and I was determined not to do it. But when I watch guys like 'Art' [Falcons owner Arthur] Blank and [Dolphins owner] Steve Ross and Jerry Jones – and Jerry talking about what part of his anatomy he would give up for a Super Bowl at 83 years old – I don't want to be there. I really don't. I want to win a couple of Super Bowls and get the hell out. I'd love that to be in the next 10 years when I'm 75. That's my dream. If I have one of the top teams at 75 [years old], I'll probably stay until [I'm] 76." (laughter) "I'll probably bail somewhere around 10 years from now when I have a really bad season or back-to-back [bad] seasons, and he'll [executive vice president and general manager Eric DeCosta] probably be coming with me. Right?" (laughter) "Eric said he's not a 'lifer' either." (laughter)
You talked about the importance of someone rushing the passer – the pass rushers – and how that affects the defense. Would you be open to trades in the first or second round to get that young stud that can affect your whole defense? (Kevin Richardson)
(DeCOSTA) "I'm never opposed to getting an elite, elite player. We almost made a trade at the trade deadline. We tried to make a trade, and we didn't get it done, but I do think a lot about these kinds of situations, and it's not the draft capital, which is always a lot. You're giving up a lot of times multiple first-round picks. It's the combination of the draft capital and the salary, which in some ways, it's prohibitive. I also think that when you get into that mindset that you're one player away, you're ripe to be fooled. We see it every year when teams make some of these blockbuster trades. Oftentimes, they end up going the other way, and you just can look at teams. There are so many factors when that happens. I still believe the best way of building the team is through the draft, because I've seen [executive vice president] Ozzie [Newsome] do it so many years and do it at a Hall of Fame level. We will participate in free agency, and we will trade for players. We've done that. It has to be [the] right player [at the] right price. If there's an elite Hall-of-Fame-type talent that's available that we think can come in and be – as [owner] Steve [Bisciotti] likes to call them – game wreckers, we look at that. We consider that very strongly. But to do that for a really, really good player and have to pay the exorbitant price and also give up all the draft pick capital, that can set your franchise back for a long time as we've seen."
Steve, you did mention that you invited QB Lamar Jackson to come up for the interviews if he wants to for the final round of interviews and everything. When it's all said and done, how much of a say will Lamar have in the head coach selection? (Jamison Hensley)
(BISCIOTTI) "[Lamar Jackson will have] a lot of say, but he has no power. I have the power. They have opinions, and I want them all. I care about my players very much, but I can't give them power."
There was a time when fans looked forward to hearing from you all the time. I think we called it "State of the Ravens." We used to hear from you just about every year. Why did you stop, and can we look forward to hearing more from you in the future? (Ken Weinman)
(BISCIOTTI) "Like Seinfeld, I ran out of good material." (laughter) "[He] had to retire, and then he goes out, and next thing you know, he is doing like 80 shows a year. It's like, 'Jerry [Seinfeld], I thought you were retired.' So, I don't know. I just always felt like if I put these guys in charge, and they got us to the playoffs ... Look, I appreciate the local [media] and Jeff [Zrebiec from The Athletic] and Jamison [Hensley from ESPN.com] who are [writing for] national publications, but the majority of their focus is on us. The national [reporters] don't look at us as in crisis, and I think the closer you get to us, you see crisis by us failing right now. I just got to the point that I didn't see the benefit of sitting up here and dissecting losing in the divisional round. To me, it wasn't fair, because it was the leaders who were making the decisions that were going to give you the best information. I think one time I got up here, and [reporters] said, 'How close were you to firing [former head coach] John Harbaugh?' And that was about the time I decided that I don't need to be up here, because I thought that your questions were so narrow to an owner of a team that had made it to the divisional round that I just didn't think it was fair. I was probably going to put my foot in my mouth, which I'm really good at doing that, too. So, I just bailed. I just kind of said to you guys, 'When we don't make the playoffs, I'll be there for you, but when we make the playoffs, I'm just going to leave it to my specialists to explain it all to you and what their plan is [moving] forward.' Then interestingly enough, this is happening right now, and it would usually happen right now. We haven't been to [my home in] Jupiter, [Florida], and that's when I will grill my leaders on their plan. They will have two more, three more [or] five more weeks. Now, this could be different. We may be doing Jupiter in April for all I know, and [executive vice president and general manager] Eric [DeCosta] is going to go, 'I [don't] have time for that. It's the Draft.'" (laughter) (Eric DeCosta: "I will say that.") "Trust me, I know. I don't know when we're going to [go to Jupiter]. Maybe we'll skip Jupiter this year, but that's why. It wasn't a mean-spirited thing; I promise you. I quite like being up here talking to you all. I know how much time you put into our team, and I appreciate it very much. Don't be fooled by my absence [and think] that I have lost my respect and appreciation for this being your job, your whole job, and you want answers. I will tell you, today; the respect that I've heard here is off the charts. I read [ESPN reporter] Jamison [Hensley]'s anatomy of the [decision]. I read [The Athletic reporter] Jeff [Zrebiec]'s [story]. I think you could put that all together and publish it and just say you have all your answers, because they're fair-minded guys. They've been here forever. They're my two favorites, because they're the two longest [tenured reporters]. Well, [Baltimore Sun reporter] Mike [Preston], I'll throw you in there. You've been there as long as they have. You're just a little meaner sometimes, so maybe you're in third place. (laughter) But out of respect for your tenure, I'll give you third place. I love your love and your passion for my team, and what I heard today was people that I really believe came in here open-minded and willing to give us the benefit of the doubt, and I want you to know how much I appreciate that, because what I was most worried about was that you wanted to get into the details, details. I have some little things that rubbed me the wrong way for a long time, and you put them in the back of your head, and then you get closer, and then you start failing, and then you bring back things that bothered you, and you do it to justify coming to the conclusion that now is the time. I just hope you respect me enough to know that 100%, my instincts told me this was the time. I may be right, I may be wrong, but I did it because I'm in charge of doing it. Your lack of digging into details saved us a lot of time, because this is like you all interviewing me and saying, 'Let's talk about your divorce with your wife of 18 years, and can you tell me all the little things that really built up to [the decision]?' We love [former head coach] John [Harbaugh] like a brother, and it was really the most difficult decision that we made, but we made it. The fact that you all are willing to just say, 'I don't need to hear any of the sorted details.' It's the big picture. We want the Ravens to succeed. I felt it was the right time to make the change. If not now, when? I guess is what I'm saying. Next year, I heard that we were contemplating [changes]. I wasn't even the decision-maker, [but we were] contemplating replacing the offensive coordinator and the defensive coordinator, and that may have been the final nail in the coffin. I thought, 'If I'm already here, and my gut is telling me it's time, why would I let John rebuild an entire staff?' Because I'm going to be sitting here next year saying, 'What the hell did I do last year? Last year was the time.' So, it wouldn't have been fair, because I think we had run our course, and if I didn't have the guts to say to my partners, 'You're on the fence, and I'm on the fence, and I'm slipping on this side, and I believe that your love for John and your respect for John is holding you back this much.' I need you to move this much. I tried to take my love and respect of John out of it, and it's [executive vice president and general manager Eric DeCosta's] best friend, so I don't know that he could, and I admire him for it, but I had to look at them and say, 'You're pretty close to me. You're not there. I'm going to push you over the edge. I'm going to make the decision.' And I made the decision by myself, and they understood. We had already talked about why I was there, and I didn't need them to come to my side of the fence for me to make this tough decision. It was a wonderful, wonderful marriage. We accomplished great things. The next coach we get, I want him to be a Super Bowl-winning coach, too. God bless him if he can rise up to the level John did and be staring at a gold jacket. That's our job. We take it seriously. Thank you, alright, for being professional and enough to know how hard this was for us."
