Ravens Hire Craig Ver Steeg As New Running Backs Coach
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens hired Craig Ver Steeg as their running backs coach to replace Matt Weiss, who left take over as quarterbacks coach at Michigan.
Ver Steeg, 60, is a 38-year coaching veteran who most recently served as the Ravens’ senior assistant/running backs coach from 2019-20. Entering his 14th season with Baltimore, he is an original member of John Harbaugh’s 2008 coaching staff.
Ver Steeg has an extensive background working with running backs, quarterbacks and wide receivers, and he has assisted the Ravens’ offense in numerous areas, including game preparation, game and practice analysis, advanced scouting and player development.
“Craig is a highly-regarded member of our staff and someone who’s served as an integral part of our offense for many years,” Harbaugh stated. “He has vast experience coaching and coordinating offenses, a thorough understanding of our schemes and techniques, and has a great relationship with our running backs. Craig is a dedicated coach and teacher who has a proven ability for getting the most out of our players.”
Ver Steeg initially entered the coaching ranks at the collegiate level in 1984 at his alma mater, Southern California. He went on to hold numerous collegiate posts, where he guided several players who benefited under his tutelage, including QB Alex Smith (Utah) and RB Ray Rice (Rutgers), prior to his Baltimore arrival. Ver Steeg also spent one season (1996) as an offensive assistant/quality control with the Chicago Bears.
Having worked closely with the Ravens’ running backs the past two seasons (2019-20), Ver Steeg helped Baltimore earn the league’s top-ranked rushing attack in each of those years. In 2020, the Ravens averaged a league-high 191.9 rushing yards per game and produced the third-most ground yards (3,071) in a 16-game NFL season.
The 2020 Baltimore squad also had three players – quarterback Lamar Jackson (1,005), along with running backs J.K. Dobbins (805) and Gus Edwards (723) – rush for over 700 yards each, while Jackson became the first quarterback in NFL history to surpass the 1,000-yard rushing milestone in multiple seasons.
A California native, Ver Steeg graduated from USC and later received his master’s degree in education while serving as a graduate assistant with the Trojans’ football program.
— The Baltimore Ravens
