Head Coach Jesse Minter
On the talks with C Tyler Linderbaum about a contract extension (Jamison Hensley): "I think I heard [executive vice president and general manager] Eric [DeCosta]'s answer earlier. I think [Tyler Linderbaum] is the best center in the league. I think he's one of the best interior linemen in the league. He's a major part of the team here. [He's] somebody we'd love to have back. He's obviously in ... I feel like guys, players ... The rules are what they are as far as your contract and earning free agency, so I respect all that. I think he knows how we feel about him and that we'd love to have him back. I think he's a major piece of our offense. I think he fits really well into the direction our offense is headed; so [he's] a guy that we'd love to have back, but I certainly respect the idea of free agency as well."
On the plan to attack the pass rush in the offseason: "[With] the pass rush, there's a lot of factors I would say that go into rushing the passer well. Sometimes, it's playing with the lead; sometimes it's blitzing more. So, I think there's a lot of variety of ways to affect the pass rush. I feel like we have some guys that can do that, some young, ascending players in that regard, that can help us there. And then I think it's always a position that you're looking for more, and so I know [executive vice president and general manager] Eric [DeCosta] and the guys will do a great job attacking free agency and the draft in building a team that in September that we feel has the ability to rush the passer."
On what he looks for in a draft prospect: "Yes, great question. No. 1 is production, and I think there's a size, speed, and length element, kind of a requirement. There may be guys that maybe are an inch or two shorter, but then they bring something else really above the level. So, there's a really wide variety of guys this year that have been really productive; some that are in their third and fourth year, some that are in their fifth and sixth year [with] the way college works now. So, I feel like there'll be a lot of guys in the draft that could potentially help in that regard."
On reflecting back on the head coaching interview process: "Every interview is different; every team, every situation I think you look at as its own thing. The rules, I think, of how they do it, I think are beneficial to guys in the playoffs. So, we played in the first round, and I wasn't able to even talk to anybody until after that. Obviously, I wish we would've kept playing, but for me, it allowed me to really focus on my job and then flip gears to the interview process. Then the timing of it – oftentimes you feel like it's going to be something where it's a rush to a decision, but in reality, with the rules, you get to go through the process. There's rules of Zooms; there's rules of in-person [interviews]. Nothing really felt like it had to be rushed, and so you really just respect the process, respect all the different teams that you're able to visit with, and ultimately, I landed where I wanted to land."
On how he felt in those head coaching interviews: "They're all different, especially the first ones, [that are] just roughly between a 90-minute and three-hour Zoom. It's hard to really get a gauge [of how well you did]. I think if you're confident, and you feel good about your plan, you're like, 'OK, I think I did well in that interview.' But at the end of the day, everybody's looking for what they're looking for. You're looking for a good fit, and [I am] certainly blessed to end up [with the Ravens]."
On his role in the draft process (Giana Han): "It's very similar, I would say. I know [executive vice president and general manager] Eric [DeCosta]'s the best in the business at his position in building a team and running the draft, which he's done [in Baltimore] for years. I think I'm able to help support, help evaluate players [and have] our coaching staff really dive in position-wise to evaluate players. We probably followed a very similar process in L.A., and so, it's been exciting and fun for me to look at offensive players, look at the other side of the ball from what I've done [in the past]. So, I am excited about that, excited about any help, but know that we have a great group in place to run that part."
On how important do-it-all safeties are to modern defenses: "I think for how we play scheme-wise, they're important, and they can be highlighted, and they can be moved around to impact the game. When you do a variety of coverages and different pressures, you can move that guy where you want to move them. I think those types of players – they're weapons. They're not necessarily a nickel or a safety or a linebacker or a corner. They're kind of a weapon. When they have that ability to impact the game, the more you can put them in position to do that, the better off [you are]. When you're evaluating those guys, they come in all different forms. Right now, there's that big safety, guy with length, guy that can cover ground that can also play man [coverage]. I think that's showing up throughout the league, but man, I couldn't be more happy to have Kyle Hamilton."
On evaluating improvement from the cornerback position (Brian Wacker): "I think there's a lot of capable players in the secondary. I think it's really an area, for myself, that I spend a lot of time with. I think, from a leverage standpoint, from a knowing where your help is, how you're playing different coverages – I hope to be able to get the best out of the guys that we have, and then, obviously, potentially add people – like you do every year in the draft, free agency [and with] undrafted free agents. But I like the [Ravens' secondary] room, and I like the ability in there. They've all played well at times. They've all done different things really well. So, I am looking forward to working with that group."
On CB Nate Wiggins' social media posts regarding an offseason surgery (Jonas Shaffer): "I'll keep that between Nate [Wiggins], myself and the organization, but he's a guy that I loved coming out from Clemson in the draft process. I am very excited to work with him, and I think there's still a lot of room in his game, and I know he knows that. I know he's excited to work with us, and so I look forward to him having a big year."
On relationship building with players and QB Lamar Jackson (Josh Tolentino): "I think Lamar [Jackson] and I's relationship, I'll probably try to keep pretty private, but it is always ongoing and always trying to be in communication. And look, like I said at the very beginning, it takes time to build the trust and the communication and the openness that you really want to create with all the players. So, I am always working towards that, but I love to see him put in the work."
On building the offensive staff around offensive coordinator Declan Doyle: "No. 1, I had gone against [the Denver Broncos' offense] really four times over the last two seasons, and so I heard a lot of great things about those guys. I had a real previous relationship with [wide receivers coach] Keary [Colbert], probably more so than any of them. Then when [offensive coordinator] Declan [Doyle] and I started to build out the offensive staff, [it's] certainly a place where he felt familiar with a lot of those guys. And so, I just love the different levels of expertise, levels of experience that they all bring to really help put Declan in the best position to be an elite play caller for us."
On competing in the AFC North with the recent changes at head coach for three of the teams: "Yes, the AFC North has always been an unbelievable division. I think it's a little bit in transition this year for the first time in a while, when you've had [former Ravens head coach] John [Harbaugh] and [former Steelers head coach] Mike [Tomlin] for so many years. [Bengals head coach] Zac [Taylor] is obviously now the guy that's been there the longest [with an] elite quarterback, elite skill players [and] I think an improving defense, so you know you're going to have your hands full every time you play them. Pittsburgh, [it's the] same thing, now bringing in [head coach] Mike McCarthy. [I have] tons of respect for him, so [they are] going from a defensive background with Mike [Tomlin] to now more of an offensive coach, and then same thing with 'Monk' [Browns head coach Todd Monken] in Cleveland, [he's] a guy that obviously everybody in our building is familiar with. I know he'll do a great job, and I really just look forward to competing with all those guys."
On the hiring of pass game coordinator/secondary coach Mike Mickens (Giana Han): "I definitely have kept up with [pass game coordinator/secondary coach] Mike [Mickens] over the years as he's gone on his own journey of coaching. [He's] done an unbelievable job at Notre Dame. They've probably, arguably, [had] – the last four or five years, maybe – the most consistent secondary rankings in the college level. He's just gotten better and better. He's a really good communicator. I think he's a really good evaluator, and I think he's a technician. His mindset from playing corner at a really high level will translate well to our guys to be really competitive, have that down-after-down mentality, the next-play mentality that we're looking for, and I couldn't be more excited to add Mike."
On if S Kyle Hamilton and S Alohi Gilman are excited about their former Notre Dame coach Mike Mickens being hired in Baltimore (Giana Han): "Absolutely, yes."
On the importance of adding depth to the trenches this offseason: "It's an O-line [and] D-line driven league. Just look at the Super Bowl winners of the last couple of years; I think that's really where you start. How have these teams won that final game? Two years ago, it was the Eagles' O-line [and] D-line driven [year]. This year, Seattle [was the] same deal, so I think that's an area that you're always looking to get better [at]. I think there are some good pieces there, and so it'll be about coaching them up, developing them more, and then adding some pieces to help us get to that level."
On his style of teaching and practicing tackling and how he approaches his philosophy of teaching the fundamentals: "[That's a] great question. Tackling is a core fundamental of football, and so I think you have to find really creative ways to practice it without necessarily tackling your own offensive players all the time. I think the approach to making a tackle is maybe the most important thing, [including] your angle to the ball and your body control when you're coming down to make a tackle. Those are things that we really, really harp on every day, whether we're in pads or just helmets or whatever. I look forward to working with the guys on that. It's a major piece of the game."
On what the coaching staff can learn from being at the Combine: "For us as a coaching staff, it's a touch point with the players. The scouts have put in a ton of work, the personnel side has already done a lot of their work, and we're now jumping into the fray and starting our own process of evaluation, and so any chance you have to get around them – whether it's a 20-minute, 15-minute [or] an informal interview – seeing how they operate, it's just a data point. It's not the 'Be all, end all,' but for us, I feel like it's an important part of the evaluation process."
On if he has a name for the positions that guys like S Derwin James and S Kyle Hamilton play: "They're just a weapon, and I'm not really going to talk about what we label the guys in our defense, but I think they're just weapons, and they can play so many different positions. They can thrive in so many different positions, and it's about finding ways for them to most impact the game."
On hiring offensive line coach and run game coordinator Dwayne Ledford and if it's fair to say the Ravens will run a lot of outsize zone like Atlanta did last year or if it's more personnel driven (Jonas Shaffer): "Everything is personnel driven [and] what-the-guys-do-well driven. [Offensive line coach and run game coordinator] Dwayne [Ledford] is one of the best O-line coaches in the league. I was super excited to get him on the staff, and so I think the coaches' job on both sides of the ball is to see what we have, see what we could possibly be best at, see what fits into our style of play with our guys, and so we'll do that. It could be a wide variety of run schemes that we use."
On balancing the addition of players familiar with his system and leaning on guys already in the building: "I don't put a ton of stock into that. I feel confident in our coaching staff to teach our system and what we need to teach. That can be helpful – particularly, maybe like a mid-season move can be helpful – but I think if you get a guy now, you have plenty of time to teach them what they need to do. We're still in the middle of formulating our system for the 2026 Ravens. It's not the Chargers defense or the old Ravens defense. We're kind of figuring that out right now, so we're looking for the best players that sort of fit, structurally, how we want those certain positions to be able to play, the jobs we need them to be able to do and kind of piecing it together that way."
On the types of wide receivers that will complement WR Zay Flowers' explosive skill set (Cliff Brown): "That's a great question. Receivers, they're weapons on offense, and so they come in all different shapes and sizes, I would say, so [we're looking for] guys that can be impactful with the ball in their hands. As I've started watching them [on film], can they get open? Can they separate at the top of routes? Can they make contested catches – which just about every catch in the NFL is probably going to be contested in some way – and then how do they play without the ball, as well? What type of teammate are they? How do they play without the ball? You're only going to get the ball in a great game eight or nine times. In a normal game, [it's] four or five times so can they impact the game in other ways? It's a great group of wideouts this year, and I certainly look forward to continuing the evaluation process with all those guys."
On the importance of the center position in a modern offense (Jonas Shaffer): "[The center] is a guy that certainly can control a lot of the communication with the offensive line, see fronts [and] help the quarterback. Those guys can work in tandem sometimes [with] seeing blitzes, protections and run schemes. So yes, in any offense, I would say that's a major position."
On if he's spoken with DL Nnamdi Madubuike (Jeff Zrebiec): "I've spoken with [Nnamdi Madubuike]. I'll keep those conversations private. I think that'll be up to him when the time's right. I know he's in great spirits, and it was great to see him in the building last week or the week prior. We'll keep the rest of that private."
