Before Dean Pees chose to retire and then return to coach for the Tennessee Titans, he was offered a contract extension by the Ravens.
As Don “Wink” Martindale begins to take over the Baltimore Ravens defense, many are still left wondering what happened with Dean Pees. Just two weeks after officially retiring from the NFL, Pees announced he was making a return, but not to Baltimore. Pees joined newly hired head coach Mike Vrabel and his staff in Tennessee.
While Pees departure was welcomed by many fans, it was surprising to see the 68-year old return so quickly. Some suspected the Ravens forced Pees into retirement but, in fact, it was the complete opposite.
Pees was available to the media for the first time since his hiring and spoke to reporters, saying that he was actually offered a contract extension by the Ravens before retiring.
Dean Pees to Tennessee media: "I was offered by John [Harbaugh] to come back and an extension on my contract. I wasn't forced to retire."
— Sarah Ellison (@sgellison) February 7, 2018
After 2 weeks, he was already asking himself if he had done right thing. Said time in Baltimore was "fantastic."
Now, this is interesting.
Pees announced his retirement before the final week of the season. That means the Ravens would have likely offered him a contract extension before that. Imagine the reaction if Pees returned for another year after the way the 2017 season ended. Fans were expressed insufferable amounts of displeasure to Marty Mornhinweg’s return and rightfully so, but this would have been 10x worse.
There was absolutely no way all three coordinators could return next season. While Pees’ departure wasn’t a firing, it was a much-needed change nonetheless. It broke the recent string of continuity on the coaching staff and Martindale gets a fresh start at the position. He’ll have a chance to implement his aggressive style of defensive coaching, something the Ravens have lacked in crucial late-game situations the past two seasons.
In the end, there doesn’t seem to be any love lost from Pees or the Ravens. Fans can’t complain about wanting Pees to retire and then be mad when he returns to another team. That has hypocrisy written all over it.
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Although, it will be interesting to see the reaction when the Ravens make the trip to Tennessee at some point next season.