The Ravens are among the NFL’s top challengers to the Seahawks this season.
It would be fascinating to honestly poll Baltimore Ravens fans about what crossed their minds while watching Mike Macdonald raise the Lombardi Trophy. Some probably felt pride. Others likely felt envy. Many almost certainly wondered when Baltimore’s turn would finally come again.
All of those emotions would make sense. Macdonald spent nine seasons with the Ravens organization across two separate stints, including a wildly successful run as defensive coordinator from 2022 through 2023. He took his talents to the Pacific Northwest. Ravens fans watched one of their own climb the mountain elsewhere, which naturally invites daydreams about alternate timelines in which Macdonald stayed in Baltimore.
Jesse Minter and Mike Macdonald share remarkably similar paths
What if he had eventually become the franchise’s next head coach? What if he had won one here? Instead, fate moved differently. Macdonald now leads the Seattle Seahawks, while Baltimore begins yet another new era under first-year head coach Jesse Minter. Interestingly enough, the connection between the two coaches runs deeper than many realize.
Minter and Macdonald worked together on Baltimore’s coaching staff from 2017 through 2020. Later, when Macdonald returned from the Michigan Wolverines to become the Ravens’ defensive coordinator, it was Minter who replaced him in Ann Arbor.
Now, two years after Macdonald departed Baltimore, Minter finds himself attempting to follow a similar championship path. That possibility recently gained more traction thanks to NFL.com senior editor Dan Parr.
Ravens are named the second most likely team to replace the Seahawks on the NFL’s mountaintop
A recent release on NFL.com ranked the top eight candidates to replace the Seahawks on the NFL’s mountaintop. The Ravens were named as the team with the league’s second-best chance to replace Seattle as Super Bowl champions.
“Minter was hired to make sure last season was an aberration and not a sign of things to come in the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson era. The ingredients are there for a rebound. After all, Jackson is a two-time MVP and still hasn’t turned 30 years old, but last year’s performance was often tough to watch as he dealt with injuries… The range of potential outcomes might stretch a bit wider for the Ravens than it does for some other teams on this list, even with a manageable schedule, but the ceiling earns them an enviable spot in the conversation.”
That statement may sound ambitious, considering Minter has never served as an NFL head coach. Then again, recent history suggests defensive-minded coaches may not be fading from relevance the way many assumed.
In an era obsessed with offensive innovation and quarterback whisperers, the last Super Bowl featured two head coaches whose identities were rooted heavily in defense. Macdonald won that battle. Could Minter someday dethrone him?
Baltimore certainly possesses enough talent to entertain the thought. There are still questions, of course, but two years after Ravens fans watched Mike Macdonald lift the Lombardi elsewhere, Baltimore may believe they already have the coach capable of finally bringing another one home.
