John Harbaugh's post-Ravens staff is clear evidence that Baltimore got it right

The Baltimore Ravens’ decision to fire John Harbaugh after their season ended certainly had its fair share of backlash from the media. However, most of those opinions changed after they made the seemingly homerun hire of Jesse Minter.

As a first-time head coach, Minter is surrounding himself with some excellent minds. There are mostly exciting up-and-comers inhabiting the coaching staff, but there are some much-needed proven veterans there, too. Analysts like Dan Orlovsky believe the Ravens’ coaching staff is one of the most well-built groups of teams entering 2026 with a new head coach.

While Minter has completed his coaching staff for the 2026 season, so has Harbaugh. Harbaugh completely revamped the New York Giants this past month. However, it’s clear that the Ravens made the right choice in switching things up; they needed to retool, and by the looks of it, Harbaugh wouldn’t have brought those necessary changes.

John Harbaugh’s new coaching staff is proof Ravens needed to go in a different direction

Credit where credit is due, Harbaugh has brought some intriguing coaches to the Big Apple. There are 252 years of experience there, which is crucial for a team like the Giants that has struggled to find a consistent identity in recent years. Defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson is also one of the better young minds in the sport, and he should have a talented New York defense making vast improvements in 2026.

Ultimately, though, that experience isn’t exactly what Baltimore needed, especially not with some of the longer-tenured coaches that Harbaugh brought in. Names like Matt Nagy and Greg Roman show that Harbaugh is somewhat reluctant to change. While that’s understandable given his success, the Ravens needed a reset for many parts of their coaching staff, and Harbaugh was not going to give them that.

The Ravens have a youth movement taking over on their staff in 2026. The team needed to lean more into hiring some innovative minds that have bright futures, not veteran coaches who may be stuck in the past. They could have that exact bright future with Minter, offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, and many of their position coaches.

Ultimately, the game is changing. Harbaugh should bring success to New York, but his message and coaching style clearly ran dry in Charm City, and he was constantly outcoached whenever he had to face the better teams around the league. The Ravens needed coaches who could adapt to the changing landscape of football, which they seem to have accomplished over the past month.

Both Minter and Harbaugh have made respectable hires. However, the reset focused on the foreseeable future Minter is bringing is exactly what the Ravens needed after a horrendous 2025 campaign. For now, it’s proof that the decision to part ways with Harbaugh and go in a different direction was the right choice, but only time will tell if Baltimore truly comes out on the winning end of this roller coaster of an offseason.