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Jesse Minter is heading back to Baltimore, this time as the Ravens’ next head coach.
The club hired the Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator on Thursday. Minter replaces John Harbaugh, who was fired earlier this month after 18 years when the Ravens failed to make the playoffs.
Minter spent four seasons on Harbaugh’s staff from 2017-20, working his way up to become the defensive backs coach during his final season before taking the defensive coordinator job at Vanderbilt.
The 42-year-old Minter was one of the hottest names on the market. He interviewed virtually with several teams — including the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are also looking for a coach after Mike Tomlin stepped down last week — before landing in Baltimore, where his job will be to help two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson take the next step in a career that’s been consistently snakebit in the postseason.
“This is an organization whose values, culture and tradition of excellence reflect everything I believe about the game of football and how it should be played,” Minter said in a statement.
Minter has been with the Chargers for two seasons after two years as defensive coordinator at the University of Michigan. Minter’s partnership with both Harbaughs helped him build a resume that made him the right fit to replace John Harbaugh and become the fourth head coach in Baltimore’s 31-year history.
“Jesse is a strong leader who possesses a brilliant football mind and a spirit that will resonate with our players and fanbase alike,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said in a statement. “Jesse comes from a football family, with success at every level of the sport, and we are confident that he is the right coach to lead the Ravens forward.”
The Bolts were fifth in the league in total defense this season, allowing 285.2 yards per game. They allowed a league-low 17.7 points per game in 2024. The Wolverines led the nation in total defense in 2023 en route to winning the College Football Playoff national championship.
Minter also spent four seasons at Baltimore (2017-20), rising from a defensive assistant to defensive backs coach his final year. He also interviewed for the head coach openings in Atlanta and Miami earlier this week. Las Vegas, Pittsburgh and Tennessee have also requested interviews.
The Ravens endured a tumultuous 2025 season marked by a 1-5 start and major injuries, from Jackson to defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike. Baltimore recovered to head into a Week 18 showdown with Pittsburgh for the AFC North title.
Rookie kicker Tyler Loop’s potential game-winning field goal on the final play sailed wide right, handing the division crown to the Steelers.
Harbaugh, the NFL’s second-longest tenured head coach, was out of a job days later. Harbaugh didn’t stay out of work long. He was hired to the same position by the New York Giants last week.
Saleh takes charge of Titans
Robert Saleh is getting another shot at turning around a struggling franchise.
The Tennessee Titans are betting it goes better than the first.
The Titans signed Saleh to a five-year contract on Thursday, tasking the 46-year-old with guiding Tennessee back into contention following back-to-back 3-14 seasons.
“Robert embodies the fundamental values of what we believe a Titan should look like and represent,” general manager Mike Borgonzi said in a statement. “He’s smart, tough, dependable, and values working with people.
“His innate ability to lead and respond to adversity is what makes him the right person to lead our football program back to one whose identity embodies sustainable success.”
Saleh went 20-36 while coaching the New York Jets from 2021-24 before returning to San Francisco for a second stint as defensive co-ordinator. He takes over a team that has a talented young quarterback in rookie Cam Ward, the top overall pick in the 2025 draft, but plenty of holes elsewhere on the roster.
Saleh met with Ward on Tuesday night after reaching a tentative agreement with the Titans and will formally be introduced as the 22nd coach in franchise history — and eighth since the club left Houston for Tennessee in 1997 — next Wednesday.
“The right people are here,” Saleh said in a statement. “And any time you can surround yourself with the right people you know you are in the right spot.”
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