In 2008, John Harbaugh was the rookie head coach of the Baltimore Ravens and Joe Flacco was the rookie quarterback. Harbaugh went on to coach 317 games in Baltimore. Flacco played in 178 of them with a Ravens’ career ranging up until the end of the 2018 season.
This year, for the first time since the 41-year-old Flacco was in college, the Ravens have a head coach who isn’t Harbaugh. Jesse Minter, who was a defensive assistant in Baltimore between 2017 and 2020, has the Ravens off to a 4-2 start this year.
Flacco, the leading passer in Ravens’ history, will return to his old stomping grounds on Sunday.
**What’s it like seeing a Baltimore team with a different head coach?**
“At this point, they’re just another team on the schedule. It’s tough to really think of it any other way.”
**Jesse Minter was a defensive assistant for a couple of years in Baltimore when you were there. How much did you interact?**
“A little bit. He was one of the young coaches. Just like you would here, you have a limited amount of interaction, but still some.”
**How impressive is the tree of how many future defensive coordinators and head coaches spent time as assistants in Baltimore (Minter, Mike Macdonald, Anthony Weaver, Zach Orr, Rob Leonard, Dennard Wilson)?**
“I remember being in Baltimore and always having a good amount of young coaches on the staff. We were one of the first organizations to have as many coaches as we did. In an organization that has always prided itself on having a good defense, it’s really not a huge surprise that they’ve had the guys that they’ve had.”
**When you look at the scheme that they’ve got with Minter, it all comes from the same tree but he also has his own style. How do you see that balance with Baltimore’s defense right now?**
“All of the good coaches have to come up with their own style with how you like to call a game and how you teach it. If you’re using other peoples’ ideas, there won’t be as much conviction with it. When you can take what you’ve learned from other people and make it into your own, even if it’s really similar to other peoples’, there’s a way to put your identity on it. Your stamp on it.”
**They’ve got the same GM. A lot of the same roster from the last few years. Does the team still feel pretty much the same even with a new head coach?**
“They’re always going to have their philosophy. That building is always going to have someone in the mode of thinking that they have.”
**You and Tyler Huntley were in the same QB room for a bit in Cleveland last year. What stood out?**
“He was a very fun personality. He brought good energy to the room right away. Always smiling. I was pleasantly surprised with him last year.”
**With Lamar Jackson, I’m sure a question he has been asked a million times is what has he learned from you. Is there anything you’ve learned from him?**
“The biggest thing with Lamar is when he gets out on the football field, he’s confident. He’s willing to play the game he has been playing the game and not make any excuses for that. Sometimes, you can get bogged down with certain things. You watch him play, and he’s a good reminder to let the game take over.”
**How much football do you sit down and watch, and to that point have you watched many Ravens games over the last few years?**
“No. I don’t go out of my way. I do watch football. But I don’t go out of my way to do it. If I’m sitting around on a Sunday during a bye week, I’m going to watch a little bit. But it’s not going to be the main thing.”
**You’ve played at Baltimore before. A lot of time has passed. Does your family still get extra amped up for this one?**
“I’m sure my family feels a certain way about me going back there. I don’t have any immediate family going down for the game. They’ll watch it pretty much like any other game. I’m sure there is a little bit of a different feeling for this one. At this point, we’ve been through so many games. They’ve watched so many games. I’m sure they’re all pretty similar.”
**Basically the whole roster has changed. Are there people in that building you stay in touch with?**
“Some of the people who were in the building when I was there, they’re going to be there forever. There are still a couple of players. A couple of people behind the scenes for sure.
**Who stands out?**
“A couple of the women up on the top floor who kind of run the place. Megan McLaughlin (senior director of football information). Val (Valarie Wideman, the player services manager). A couple of people who are lifers and make the place go behind the scenes.”
**What are they like?**
“As a football player, you probably have a piece of you that’s decently selfish. When you think about some of the people in that building, obviously they’re there and it’s their career and they take pride in that. Also, they do so much to serve us as players without asking for much. There are a lot of people in that building that do that. A lot of people who don’t ask for much in return but lead a very giving life toward all of us.”
**One more topic. How would you describe Baltimore as a city?**
“Baltimore is a very prideful, very hard-working football town. You can sense that when you’re there, especially because you can get the sense for how bad it was when there wasn’t a team there. You get to learn that history and how people felt about that and how they felt about the Ravens coming back to town and getting a team back. It’s always an unbelievable place to play. The character of the city shows up in the stadium. They do such a good job of putting on a show.”
_Copyright 2026 WXIX. All rights reserved._