The Baltimore Ravens have a challenging offseason ahead. After firing John Harbaugh, they are in search of a head coach for just the fourth time in franchise history. They have long been a model of consistent success, as seen through 18 years under Harbaugh, and now, they’ll look for a candidate that can keep that going.
In two weeks of searching, they constructed a list of 17 potential targets. Three of those have since been taken off the board, as Kevin Stefanski signed with the Atlanta Falcons and Robert Saleh signed with the Tennessee Titans as head coaches, and Mike McDaniel is expected to sign with the Los Angeles Chargers as their offensive coordinator.
Clearly, with seven other head coaching vacancies remaining, a tough task will be landing on their preferred candidate before one of their competitors does. However, another obstacle this offseason could come through free agency.
Ravens facing John Harbaugh-sized obstacle this offseason
With Harbaugh joining the New York Giants, it is expected that many coaches will follow him to the Big Apple. The same can be said for many of his former players, and with a stacked free agency class, the Ravens have plenty of contributors to worry about ahead of free agency.
According to SNY reporter Connor Hughes, it is widely expected that the Giants will be aggressive in going after former Ravens come March. The biggest name that he highlighted is possibly the biggest fish of all the entire free agency class: three-time Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum.
From what I’ve been told, expect the #Giants to be aggressive in targeting ex-#Ravens in free agency. Harbaugh wants people who know his way to carry out his message in locker room.
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) January 20, 2026
Tyler Linderbaum would be one I’d keep an eye on.
FOX Baltimore’s sports reporter, Morgan Adsit, added a few more that the Giants could go after, including fullback Patrick Ricard and tight ends Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar.
C Tyler Linderbaum and FB Pat Ricard make so much sense here.
— Morgan Adsit (@MorganAdsit) January 20, 2026
Add TE Charlie Kolar as well. Potentially TE Isaiah Likely.
All could be heading to free agency come March. https://t.co/OPaIyFOcGT
Of course, the Ravens hold all the chips right now. They’ll undoubtedly do everything in their power to retain players like Linderbaum. However, it takes two to tango, and if some of their pending free agents aren’t interested in playing for the new coaching staff, then Baltimore could be in serious danger of losing them to a team like the Giants.
Regardless, it all starts with inking quarterback Lamar Jackson to a new deal prior to free agency. The Ravens are set to have a little over $20 million in cap space, but Jackson’s cap hit of $74.5 million is a major issue. They could free up a ton of money by extending Jackson, which would, in turn, help them in negotiations in the coming months.