OTL: An Old Friend is Going Bowling

Just two seasons after former Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald left Baltimore to become the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, he’s on his way to Santa Clara to face the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.

While Macdonald has been very successful in Seattle, the argument that he should have taken over as the head coach of the Ravens never made sense. The Ravens finished 13-4 in 2023, and were the AFC runners-up. Firing John Harbaugh in favor of Macdonald would have been ludicrous, and though looking back it may have worked out perfectly, hindsight is 20/20.

New Ravens head coach Jesse Minter has many similarities to Mike Mac. They both spent time as Ravens assistants, then worked under Jim Harbaugh as a defensive coordinator at Michigan. Minter did a great job elevating the play of defenders in LA. The Chargers finished 8th in total scoring defense during the regular season, allowing 19.8 points per game. Former Ravens edge Odafe Oweh, who had zero sacks in five games with Baltimore, recorded 7.5 sacks in 12 games in LA under Minter after being traded. Pass rush was a glaring issue this season in Baltimore, and one that many fans hope Minter can fix.

In other coaching news, I found it very interesting that John Harbaugh chose to hire Titans DC Dennard Wilson as his defensive coordinator up in East Rutherford. Harbaugh had his choice of Wilson or Anthony Weaver when Macdonald left for Seattle, yet he chose Zach Orr. All three former Ravens assistants became defensive coordinators, and while Weaver and Wilson seemed to do more with less, Orr was known in Baltimore for doing less with more, given all the talent at his disposal.

Admittedly, watching these playoffs as a neutral fan with little-to-no rooting interest has been a blast. I can’t imagine being in the shoes of Bills fans who watched Ja’Quan McMillian snatch a near game winning reception away from Brandin Cooks. I can’t imagine being a Packers fan watching their defense fold like a lawn chair to the Chicago Bears in what was an epic collapse. We Ravens fans have lived those lives before, but watching from the sidelines is almost therapeutic.

With that being said, I’m envious of the Patriots fans who went through a relatively short rebuild, missing the playoffs in just four of six years after winning Super Bowl LIII, and are now back atop the AFC. I swore it was going to be Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson winning the AFC for the next decade, but from the depths of back-to-back 4-13 seasons, the now somewhat bearable New England Patriots are once again headed to the Super Bowl.

Drake Maye has been very impressive this season, and although the playoff path has been fairly easy, making a Super Bowl in year two is a great achievement. In a world full of quarterback busts, the top three picks of the 2024 Draft, Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Maye have all looked pretty damn good in their first two seasons at the helm of their respective squads.

Fernando Mendoza is expected to be the number one pick in the 2026 Draft, and it may just make the Vegas head coach opening the most intriguing one left on the market. Terry Pegula absolutely killed the buzz around the Bills opening with his disrespect of Sean McDermott and Keon Coleman, and his general lack of sympathy and kindness in his press conference. Couldn’t be us, our owner hops on the microphone for his first press conference in a long while and gets praised for how he handles himself on behalf of the Ravens organization.

Steve Bisciotti said Harbaugh was at peace with his decision, and it seems as though he was right. Harbaugh quickly took the New York Giants coaching job, a team and organization desperately looking for stability after having six different head coaches since Tom Coughlin’s departure in 2015.

Shoutout to Harbaugh for taking out a full page ad in the Baltimore Sun thanking the Ravens flock. Though I was never really bothered, John’s failure to mention the fans in his initial statement or his introductory NY presser seemed to have struck the nerve of some people, but Harbaugh made it right in the end. Harbaugh still made no mention of his neighbor, and longtime partner Eric DeCosta. I hope there’s no hard feelings between the two. They led successful Baltimore squads for an almost eight-year period, plus, maybe DeCosta will need to borrow flour or sugar from a neighbor while he’s baking cookies this offseason.

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