Minter returns to Baltimore grateful for what he has achieved, but eager to accomplish much more. The Ravens finished 8-9 last season and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2021. A coaching change was made for the first time in 18 years. Minter knows he’s walking into an organization where his job is to win right away.
Minter loves those high expectations. He was on the staff in 2019 when Baltimore had the best record in franchise history (14-2). Minter and now-Seattle Seahawks Head Coach Mike Macdonald coached together in Baltimore for four years on the defensive staff. They are friends and still talk frequently, and Macdonald has led the Seahawks to the Super Bowl in just his second season.
Comparisons between Macdonald and Minter are bound to be made because they share those connections and more. Minter has coached under both John and Jim Harbaugh, two of the NFL’s most successful coaches who have also helped shaped Minter’s growth.
However, Minter is his own man, doing what he loves to do, exactly where he wants to be. He looked very comfortable sitting at the podium on Thursday after landing the opportunity of a lifetime.
“It wasn’t because I knew everyone here that I wanted this job,” Minter said. “It was because of my time here that I was able to see how this place operated, knowing that everything is in place to be a championship organization.
“I look forward to going to work, to prove the decision of these men up here right.”
It’s Minter’s first time being a head coach at any level. That was the case for Harbaugh 18 years ago, too. Minter has come a long way since being a Ravens defensive assistant, now moving into the big office, and he feels ready for the job.
“[During] the last year, especially, I really felt strongly that I was getting more and more prepared to be in this situation, and I was hoping for an opportunity during this cycle,” Minter said. “And then, sure enough, the Lord works in mysterious ways, and this job opened up, and it was a match made in heaven for me and my family.”