OTL: Minter Continues to Build Impressive Staff

Perhaps the biggest question surrounding Jesse Minter when he took the Ravens’ head coaching job was whether he had enough connections to build an above-average NFL staff. Minter has answered that question and then some with the hires he’s made so far.

News broke yesterday that Anthony Weaver will be Minter’s defensive coordinator. Weaver was strongly in contention for a number of head coaching jobs, but when all 10 vacancies were filled and new Dolphins HC Jeff Hafley brought in his own DC, Weaver was out of a job in Miami. Weaver is an outstanding leader, and someone many current Ravens defenders hold a ton of respect for from his time as an assistant in 2021-23. If the Ravens defense posts solid metrics this season, I wouldn’t be surprised if Weaver is a one-and-done as the Ravens DC and takes a head coaching job next offseason.

Knee-Jerk Reactions: Ravens to Hire Anthony Weaver as Defensive Coordinator

On the other side of the ball, I’m pumped to see the creative ways new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle can elevate this offense. Doyle is just 29 years old, but in his seven-year NFL coaching career he’s served as an assistant under Sean Payton, and most recently he spent a year in Chicago under Ben Johnson as the Bears OC. Johnson is one of the most creative offensive minds in the sport, known for influencing defenses with eye candy and trickery. I don’t know about you, but that’s the exact kind of offense I want my OC coming from.

Tale of the Tape: Can Doyle Solve Red Zone Woes?

The Ravens officially announced four assistant coach hires yesterday. Dwayne Ledford, the Falcons offensive line coach for the past five seasons, will take over as the Ravens offensive line coach/run game coordinator. Tyler Santucci was retained as the inside linebackers coach, and Charlie Gelman, an assistant who crossed paths with Minter in Baltimore back in 2019, will serve as a game management coordinator/defensive assistant.

Perhaps the most intriguing of these hires was Mike Mickens. Mickens, the former cornerbacks coach and defensive pass game coordinator at Notre Dame, led a Fighting Irish secondary that finished fourth in the country among FBS teams in interceptions (21). In 2024, Notre Dame finished with the fourth fewest points allowed and fourth fewest passing yards allowed per game among FBS schools. Mickens also coached Sauce Gardner at Cincinnati, who was a Freshman All-American as a Bearcat in 2019, and went on to become the fourth-overall pick in the 2022 Draft.

Most importantly, Mickens passed the social media test. Every Notre Dame fan I saw reacting to him leaving had nothing but good things about him, something ever so important in today’s era.

Todd Monken was hired as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns Wednesday morning out of a finalist group that also included Browns DC Jim Schwartz, Jaguars OC Grant Udinski, and Rams Pass Game Coordinator Nate Scheelhaase. A list not necessarily including the most sought out names, but ones that were willing to coach in the factory of sadness.

Schwartz was reportedly unhappy that he was passed over for the Cleveland job, which honestly seems like a fair gripe. He called a Browns defense that allowed the fifth fewest yards per game (283.6), and the third fewest passing yards per game (167.2).

Monken will now have to go through a coordinator search of his own, one that very likely won’t include Schwartz. One name I was watching closely for his offensive coordinator vacancy was Ravens Quarterbacks Coach Tee Martin. However, it was another member of the Baltimore operation Monken tapped:

BREAKING: The Browns are hiring Travis Switzer as offensive coordinator, per @AdamSchefter.

Switzer, who was with the Ravens in various roles since 2017, follows Todd Monken to Cleveland. pic.twitter.com/ZYvLZdmfsV

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) February 3, 2026

After all of this shakeup in the AFC North, Zac Taylor, yes, Zac Taylor is the only returning head coach. The Bengals had a solid two year run in 2021 and 2022, even appearing in a Super Bowl, but over the last three seasons, Cincinnati has gone 9-8, 9-8, and 6-11, failing to make a playoff appearance. Yes, Joe Burrow missed significant time in two of those seasons, but in that 2024 season he threw for 4,918 yards with a 43:9 touchdown to interception ratio and Cincinnati failed to make the playoffs due to their dumpster fire of a defense. Eventually you just have to realize that the coach you have is no longer the guy. The Ravens, Steelers, and Browns all realized that, yet the Bengals stood pat.

The post OTL: Minter Continues to Build Impressive Staff appeared first on Russell Street Report.