Ravens director of player personnel Joe Hortiz is leaving the organization after 26 years to become the new general manager of the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Chargers announced the move on Jan. 30.
Hortiz has been one of the top lieutenants for general manager Eric DeCosta, and Ozzie Newsome before that, in terms of building the Ravens’ roster. He was central to the Ravens’ draft strategy as the team’s director of college scouting from 2009-2018.
In Los Angeles, Hortiz will team with new head coach Jim Harbaugh, the brother of Ravens coach John Harbaugh. Hortiz and Jim Harbaugh were on the sideline together at M&T Bank Stadium this past Sunday before the Ravens faced the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship game.
“Joe is one of the most respected player evaluators and personnel minds in the league whose contributions to the Ravens front office over the past two decades cannot be overstated,” Chargers president of football operations John Spanos said in a statement.
Spanos also praised Hortiz’s experience working with “two of the best in the business” in Newsome and DeCosta.
“When you consider his football IQ, eye for talent, ability to think both short and long term as it pertains to roster construction, organization, thoroughness and ability to be creative within the confines of our collective bargaining agreement, it’s hard not to be excited about the future.”
Hortiz has been linked to general manager positions in the past few years, and within the Ravens facility the sense he is overdue for such a job.
A graduate of Auburn, Hortiz served as a Ravens regional scout from 2001-05 before becoming a national scout in 2006. He was promoted to director of college scouting in 2009 and oversaw the college evaluation process for more than a decade.
Hortiz began with the Ravens as a personnel assistant in 1998. He is a member of the “20/20 Club,” a group of young staffers who began at the bottom rungs of the ladder of the personnel department and gradually took on larger roles.
The club name comes from the notion that these staffers began at age 20 and made $20,000.
“The guys actually started when they were a little older than 20 and for more than $20,000, but that’s what we called them,” Newsome has said.
Hortiz’s departure could be the first of many in the Ravens facility, not counting the nearly two dozen free agent players.
With the season now over after a 17-10 loss to the Chiefs, defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald is interviewing for the vacant head coaching jobs with the Washington Commanders and Seattle Seahawks, and teams have requested interviews with several other Ravens assistant coaches as well.
Photo Credit: Shawn Hubbard/Baltimore Ravens