By the time the Ravens decided to hire Jesse Minter to be their next head coach, General Manager Eric DeCosta was sleep-deprived.
The Ravens interviewed 20 candidates – an even wider net than the one previously reported. In the end, Minter was their guy.
DeCosta called it a “great process” learning so much from so many qualified candidates, but it didn’t take long to see Minter was going to be a great fit.
The Ravens’ first interview with Minter was on Jan. 14, the day after the press conference with Owner Steve Bisciotti and DeCosta, in which they laid out what they were looking for. Baltimore had already had nine first-round interviews before talking to Minter.
When did DeCosta know he was the guy?
“I think early on in the process, on that Zoom,” DeCosta said from his office, just minutes after the Ravens made the hire.
“Talking to him and just seeing his respect for the culture in this building, his ideas, listening to him talk about his ideas for the offense, his ideas for the defense, his ideas for the special teams, what he wants his team to play like. Watching the Chargers play defense on fire every single week, his scheme, very creative. Looking at what he did at Michigan, looking at what he did at Vanderbilt, the coaches he’s worked with. It all just kind of came together and it became clear to me that this was the right guy.”