The Baltimore Ravens have had a heavy week, starting with honoring the late Jacoby Jones and ending in starting TE Mark Andrews having a car accident. Andrews is reportedly okay, escaping injury, but the Ravens also have one long-time coach in their thoughts.
Ravens offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris is currently on medical leave while dealing with a health issue. John Harbaugh said he is dealing with an acute illness that stems from a surgery he had in the summer. In the interim, his health has forced the Ravens to hire George Warhop to man the offensive line room.
D’Alessandris, an Aliquippa native, has been the Ravens’ offensive line coach since 2017. He has a coaching history dating back to the late ‘70s, only jumping to the NFL in 2008. He served as offensive line coach for the Pittsburgh Panthers back in 1996 and has worked for the Chiefs, Bills, and Chargers.
The Ravens’ offensive line group is their position in greatest flux this offseason, adding another layer to D’Alessandris’ importance. They parted with three starters from last season in Kevin Zeitler, John Simpson, and Morgan Moses. While they believe they have new starters in place, it’s never easy to reshuffle 60 percent of a starting unit.
As for Mark Andrews, he was involved in a car accident on Wednesday morning while driving to work. Harbaugh said the accident was “pretty significant,” though Ravens staff evaluated Andrews and cleared him to participate that day.
Andrews is crucial to the Ravens’ offense. He has been QB Lamar Jackson’s favorite target throughout his career. Since entering the league together, Andrews has caught 287 passes from him for 3,739 yards and 32 touchdowns.
The Ravens hope to unleash a double-headed monster at tight end this year with Andrew and Isaiah Likely. The latter came into his own while Andrews missed time last season due to injury, but now the Ravens want them working in tandem.
Understanding the importance of D’Alessandris, the Ravens opted for another extremely experienced coach. Warhop has 40 years of coaching experience, most of it with NFL teams. He coached the Cleveland Browns’ offensive line from 2009-2013, and most recently coached with the Texans in 2022.
The Pittsburgh Steelers know something about the difficulty of the necessity of an interim coach, which the Ravens are now experiencing. Five years ago, wide receivers coach Darryl Drake died suddenly during training camp. While they mourned for him, they needed somebody else to coach, hiring Ray Sherman for the job.
While the Ravens are counting their blessings that Mark Andrews is okay, they will be thinking about Joe D’Alessandris. He has become a staple of their offensive coaching staff and is not easily replaceable. The turnover in the offensive line room only makes his absence tougher to bear. Their trust in his coaching is likely part of the reason they felt comfortable making these line adjustments this year.
