While we haven’t yet reached peak craziness in the NFL offseason, as we haven’t even hit the Super Bowl yet, the coaching carousel is still churning, with every team now having a head coach after the Washington Commanders hired Dan Quinn. The Baltimore Ravens lost defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, as he was hired as the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, but they’re also having their defensive coaching staff picked clean.
Defensive line coach and assistant head coach Anthony Weaver, who got head coach interviews, just accepted a job as the Miami Dolphins’ defensive coordinator. DBs coach Dennard Wilson also got a promotion, heading to the Tennessee Titans as their defensive coordinator. The Ravens promoted from within to replace Macdonald, hiring inside linebackers coach Zach Orr to their defensive coordinator job, but there are still a lot of positions to replace on Baltimore’s defensive coaching staff. They’ll need a new DL coach to replace Weaver, a new secondary coach and a new inside linebacker coach. Fundamentally, things will likely stay the same in Baltimore, but as different coaches bring in different ideas and philosophies, there could be some changes in Baltimore.
And that’s just on the coaching side. The Ravens also have DL Justin Madubuike, who was a Pro Bowler and Second Team All-Pro with 13 sacks last season hitting free agency. Baltimore will also have LB Patrick Queen, coming off a resurgent year with 133 total tackles and also being named a Pro Bowler and Second Team All-Pro, hit the market. While the Ravens could use their franchise tag on one of them, it’s going to be hard for them to bring back both Madubuike and Queen given the contracts that they’re likely to garner on the open market.
After a 13-4 season that featured an impressive defense all season long, it’s little surprise that Baltimore’s defensive coaching staff is the target of other teams who are looking to bring in guys to set the culture and try to replicate that success. That’s the nature of the NFL. If you have a lot of success, other teams are going to look to the coaches that were a part of it, and it’s possible to get picked clean the way Baltimore has this offseason. It becomes more troublesome for Baltimore when you look at the talent due to hit free agency, but the Ravens will still have Roquan Smith, Kyle Hamilton, Marlon Humphrey and more back next season. With Lamar Jackson and their key pieces on defense, they’re still going to be a threat, even if some of the names and faces might change.
