The Baltimore Ravens are conducting a deep coaching search this offseason. After firing John Harbaugh after a disappointing 2025 season, the Ravens are in need of a new head coach for the first time in 18 years. So far, they’ve already done a ton of homework.
As of March 13, the Ravens have interviewed eight candidates, and there are at least six more on the horizon. Obviously, with such an important position vacant, the team will be looking to work quickly, but it’s clear they aren’t even close to landing on a coach.
Baltimore fans got a small peek behind the curtain on the head coaching search on Tuesday. Owner Steve Bisciotti and General Manager Eric DeCosta offered a ton of insight into the process during their press conference that afternoon. For Bisciotti in particular, he outlined his thought process on what he likes in a candidate.
“I am very intrigued by coaches that were the hottest offensive and defensive coordinators five, six, seven years ago in their cycles, and got jobs and went to teams that were non-competitive and didn’t have a quarterback,” Bisciotti said. “If our final candidate is an ex-coach who has a losing record…we are going to be able to judge that failure with his circumstances and marry that up, and not disqualify them.”
Bisciotti went on to add that he’ll let DeCosta, Ozzie Newsome, and Sashi Brown make the final calls, but once that list is down to five options, he’ll offer his input on each individual coach.
Still, that says a lot about the direction in which the Ravens could go in the coming weeks. While there are 14 candidates at this point, if Bisciotti’s words come true, that list will shrink quite a bit.
Steve Bisciotti’s recent comments may have narrowed down the coaching list
Of those interviewed or scheduled interviews, a good chunk of their current list fits Bisciotti’s billing. Still, it would take plenty out of the running. Of course, it doesn’t confidently eliminate some names, but it sounds like the 65-year-old owner would prefer a head coach with experience under that pressure.
Some names that have been rumored the most after Bisciotti’s comments include Kevin Stefanski, Robert Saleh, Brian Flores, and Mike McDaniel. Kliff Kingsbury and Matt Nagy would also be possibilities, but may have an uphill climb in winning the job.
Stefanski, Saleh, and Flores probably had the most unfair hands dealt to them when it comes to their teams’ roster construction when they were head coaches.
Stefanski led the Cleveland Browns to two playoff appearances during his tenure, and while he did have strong quarterback play from Baker Mayfield, Cleveland made the critical mistake of trading the now two-time Pro Bowler. Since then, it's been complete roster turmoil. Stefanski went 45-56 in six seasons.
In Saleh’s case, he landed a job with a struggling New York Jets organization. Despite the team’s dysfunction, he still built some strong defenses. The issue was the failure of Zach Wilson, and they simply couldn’t recover from a disappointing second overall pick. Saleh went 20-36 in four seasons.
As for Flores, his tenure was filled with tank-fueled rosters and strained relationships with the Miami Dolphins’ front office. It was clear early in his tenure that they were trying to tank, yet Flores did an admirable job of keeping the team competitive. It also seems he was ultimately right about Tua Tagovailoa. Flores finished his three-year tenure in Miami with a 24-25 record, getting the boot after a 9-8 season in 2021.
Given everything said during that Tuesday press conference, it sounds increasingly likely that the Ravens will elect to go with a more experienced candidate.