Jesse Minter Shares Plans to Collaborate With New Ravens DC

It's a rare feat for an NFL team to find a way to get two of the finalists for its head coach vacancy on the same staff, but that's exactly what the Baltimore Ravens managed to pull off during a hiring cycle where 10 different openings became available.

Not only did they land Jesse Minter, who was widely considered the top candidate on the market, to replace long-time head coach John Harbaugh, but they also brought back his former assistant head coach and defensive line coach, Anthony Weaver, in an elevated role as the defensive coordinator.

At his introductory press conference last month, Minter already announced that he'd be the one calling plays on that side of the ball, given it is his area of expertise. He spent the past two seasons as the Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator, taking their unit from one of the worst to among the league's elite.

While most veteran coaches in Weaver's position would feel some type of way and not return to a team that passed him over for a promotion for the second time in three years, not being the one calling plays wasn't a deal breaker for him as Minter plans for the two of them to work hand-in-hand on reestablishing the Ravens defense to its former glory with new ideas and innovations.

Head coach Jesse Minter on the collaboration on the defense with DC Anthony Weaver: pic.twitter.com/yfuw8HEeND
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) February 18, 2026

"He understood what the job was going to be, but I also was looking for a leader and somebody that could run that room," Minter said. "I know I'm not going to be able to be in there maybe quite as much as I was as just the defensive coordinator. And so the leadership piece, the knowledge piece – we've run similar schemes the last couple years where he's been at and where I've been at."

During the same two-year span Minter was turning the Chargers defensive around as a first-time play-caller in the NFL, Weaver got his second crack at calling plays with the Miami Dolphins where he worked wonders in his first season in the helm in 2024 and still managed to get the unit to play at a competitive and respectable level in 2025 even after the front office gutted the roster on his side of the ball and left him with way more scrubs that stars to work with.

The former player-turned-coach was drafted by the Ravens nearly a quarter century ago in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame. He was in the same draft class as Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed and played alongside several other franchise legends, such as Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis, franchise all-time sack leader Terrell Suggs and two-time All Pro cornerback Chris McAlister. A decade and a half after he played his last snap for the team, he returned as coach and served under Harbaugh from 2021 to 2023, and has a relationship with several players who are still on the team.

"There's so many great qualities of him knowing the surroundings, knowing what it means to be a Raven, knowing how we're trying to rebrand that a little bit and make it a new age of a way to 'Play like a Raven'," Minter said. "I'm super confident in Anthony's ability to lead our defense, and then us to work very close together in the game-planning process."

As for what Weaver's role as a non-play-calling coordinator will look like, he and the Ravens need to look no further than how their new offensive coordinator served under the Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson, who called the plays for the team's offense in his first year on the job.

"Declan [Doyle] was in a similar situation last year – and so we've talked about that where it's really like they're able to do a lot of that work and be prepared as if they're even going to call the game and then knowing that at the end of the day, that's the role I'm going to have on gameday," Minter said.

Weaver addresses Ravens defensive issues with blown leads

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell rushes for a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens during the second half. — Jan 4, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell (14) rushes for a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens during the second half at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

During the later portion of the Harbaugh era, including the time Weaver spent on staff, the Ravens began to become infamously known for letting double-digit and late leads slip through their hands, resulting in inexcusable losses that cost them playoff seeding and caused them to miss the playoffs altogether this past season.

When asked how and plans to go about helping turn that trend around, Weaver revealed that the process of avoiding such major letdowns takes place before the game even kicks off.

"I think it's just how you operate and do things every day, right?," Weaver said. "It is not one of those things where people always say, 'Oh, it's the fourth quarter, so you feel this pressure, and you're going to rise to the occasion.' I don't believe that. I think you just fall to the level of what your standards are.

"As Jesse said here, when you're talking about standards and expectations, let's make sure we're fulfilling those and reaching those standards and expectations every single day. That's what is going to win in the fourth [quarter], right? It's not going to be like, 'Hey, let's turn it up a notch.' Well, what were you doing the first three quarters? Whatever that notch is, let's keep our foot on the gas every single play, and then the results will take care of themselves."

For the last couple of seasons, since Mike Macdonald left following the 2023 season and turned the Seattle Seahawks into a juggernaut and eventually a Super Bowl champion, the Ravens have been trying to recapture their mystique on the defensive side of the ball, being feared once again. Weaver believes that regaining that reputation ultimately boils down to how they play on the field together more than what they vow at the podium.

"11 guys connected in a flow state." 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/paGdn8QCYw
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) February 18, 2026

"It is about us going out there and flying around to the ball, having 11 guys connected, that are in a flow state, that kind of know what each other are doing and we're just flying around looks like a pack of wolves," Weaver said. "It looks like we have 13 guys out there. That's where we're chasing. [It's about] defeating blocks. If you get a chance to intimidate and hit somebody, let's do it. Let's make sure we do that.

"The one thing I know is just, having been with so many of these guys [previously], they have that. It's ingrained in their DNA. Otherwise, they wouldn't be here. So, we're just trying to get back to that standard. I don't know what happened the last two years. I know when I turn on the tape, there's still a lot of things you get excited about. We just have to make sure we're more consistent in those actions to get back to where we want to be."

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