NFL owners are notoriously bad at hiring coaches. How do we know this? In this year’s cycle, there were 10 openings, and only one resulted from a resignation. Last year, there were seven. The high turnover rate is the clearest evidence that teams are impatient and don’t know what they’re doing.
No one can accurately predict how these head coaches will fare. Instead, we’ll look at the most and least interesting hires.
Most interesting
Jesse Minter, Baltimore Ravens
Age: 42
Previous job: Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator
While other franchises struggle to find adequate leadership, Baltimore excels. Since 1999, the Ravens have hired only two coaches, both of whom won Super Bowls. Will Jesse Minter follow in the footsteps of Brian Billick and John Harbaugh? He has an excellent chance.
Minter is an inspired choice because he’s not a retread. He’s relatively young and should have time to grow into the role. Though he’s a rookie head coach, he previously served as a defensive assistant and defensive backs coach in Baltimore from 2017 to 2020 under Harbaugh, making him a familiar face within the organization.
He’s also taking over a model franchise. The Ravens are a stable outfit with two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson at quarterback, promising young defensive players in safeties Kyle Hamilton and Malaki Starks, and linebacker Mike Green.
With the Chargers, Minter oversaw a defense that ranked sixth in yards allowed (290.0 per game) and eighth in points allowed (19.8). There’s every reason to believe Baltimore will be better and the Ravens will be an AFC contender this fall.
Least interesting
John Harbaugh, New York Giants
Age: 63
Previous job: Baltimore Ravens coach (180-113 over 18 seasons)
The conservative New York Giants chose the safest possible option because ownership was facing considerable heat. Since Tom Coughlin retired after the 2015 season, the franchise has fired four coaches (Ben McAdoo, Pat Shurmur, Joe Judge, and Brian Daboll). Three of those guys were rookies, so the Giants were going to hire someone with a proven track record.
John Harbaugh isn’t an interesting hire because we all know what New York is getting. He’s an established winner who will get the Giants back to the playoffs. But can he do more than that? Since winning the Super Bowl after the 2012 season, he’s 4-7 in the playoffs. With Lamar Jackson, Harbaugh has reached the AFC Championship Game once. Plus, there seemed to be some friction between Harbaugh and Jackson last year, which might have contributed to his ouster.
Harbaugh is now entrusted with a promising roster that includes quarterback Jaxson Dart, running back Cam Skattebo, wide receiver Malik Nabers, and defensive end Abdul Carter. Expect Harbaugh to make New York relevant this fall, but don’t expect him to build a Super Bowl contender quickly.
About Michael Grant
Born in Jamaica. Grew up in New York City. Lives in Louisville, Ky. Sports writer. Not related to Ulysses S. Grant.