INDIANAPOLIS — New Ravens coach Jesse Minter’s preferred choice of attire is more cape than the actual hoodie it is. After taking questions from reporters for 15 minutes at the NFL scouting combine Tuesday afternoon, he was promptly whisked through a car wash of interviews with various national media outlets, including ESPN, flying from one microphone and television camera to another.
A few hours later he returned, backpacks in tow, to meet with local reporters for another dozen minutes. It has been, by his own admission, something of a whirlwind since he was hired as only the fourth head coach in the organization’s 31-year history, following the dismissal of John Harbaugh after a season that left owner Steve Bisciotti restless and underwhelmed.
What has been the biggest adjustment for the 42-year-old former defensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Chargers, now a first-time head coach?
“You want to be in on everything and you want to try to impact every little thing,” Minter said. “You have to quickly figure out that’s not always possible.
“You’ve got to really be where your feet are for that particular hour of the day and make the most of it.”
The hours arrive quickly.
One might be spent in a defensive meeting, the next with the offense or special teams. There are player evaluations, conversations about roster construction with general manager Eric DeCosta and vice president of football administration Nick Matteo, and the quieter but no less important work of forming relationships throughout the building.
These tasks demand tempo and touch.
The offseason, paradoxically, can make that work harder. Players are scattered across the country. Sometimes they pass through the team facility in Owings Mills; other times the contact is through text messages and Zoom calls.
Chief among those conversations, Minter said, have been what he described as a “good amount” with two-time NFL Most Valuable Player and quarterback Lamar Jackson. DeCosta noted Tuesday that Jackson was involved in the hiring process that brought Minter to Baltimore, and he has had conversations with him about a potential contract extension.
Unsurprisingly, Minter did not offer many details about their discussions. That has long been Jackson’s preference, whether the topic is negotiations or matters between quarterback and coach. Minter understands that rhythm.
“Relationships are built over time,” Minter said. “They’re built through communication, they’re built through being honest, they’re built through being open.”
He added that he and offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, who at 29 is two months younger than Jackson, have tried to stay in regular contact without becoming overbearing.
“He’s been a Raven for a long time,” Minter said of Jackson. “It’s new for us. It’s not new for him.”
Still, the conversations have been productive, touching on football and plenty else. Minter said that they have reached a point in which “we could ask each other anything.”
There is much to be done.
“Culture takes time, and creating standards of how we operate as players come back in will take some time,” Minter said, noting that the details of that work often surface most clearly on Sundays.
For Minter, who intends to call the defense while serving as head coach — much as Mike Macdonald did for the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks — one of the immediate questions is how to generate more pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
The Ravens’ 30 sacks last season tied for 30th in the league, and their pass-rush win rate of 30% ranked 28th, according to ESPN analytics.
“Sometimes you just end up going down a road with the group that you have,” he said of the defense. “We’ll try to wipe the slate clean for those guys and maybe how we look at pass rush and what we allow them to do with some freedom we might try to give them, while at the same time making sure everybody understands what that freedom means.”
His early impression of the roster he has inherited is that the Ravens are a “capable” team — one that, at moments last season, looked as formidable as anyone in the league. As an admitted optimist, that is what lingered with him.
But so did the inconsistency, and the injuries.
There is, again, work to do.
The Ravens blew three fourth-quarter leads in 2025, including two in the final three games, finishing 8-9 to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2021. Jackson missed four games because of injuries, and at one point Baltimore was forced to start five rookies amid a rash of ailments, including to standout defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike, who suffered a season-ending neck injury in Week 2.
Ravens defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike played just two games in 2025, and his health status for 2026 is uncertain. Baltimore’s defense plays its best with Madubuike available along the interior. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff)
Neither DeCosta nor Minter offered an update on Madubuike’s status Tuesday, choosing again to keep the matter private. Minter said he has spoken with him and that the lineman has been around the facility in recent weeks.
“I think that’ll be up to him when the time’s right,” Minter said. “I know he’s in great spirits.”
The same could be said for Minter himself.
His first combine as a head coach will wind down later this week. Then comes free agency, the draft and, before long, offseason workouts.
For now, he moves from room to room, settling into a job that tends to gather speed before it ever slows. He is on his way.
Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1.