The Ravens are in the midst of interviewing candidates for their head coaching position. Analysts familiar with the interviewees chatted with Glenn Clark Radio about what the coaches would bring to Baltimore. Here’s what they had to say about the candidates with defensive backgrounds.
Brian Flores
Flores interviewed with the Ravens on Jan. 13. The 44-year-old cut his teeth in a variety of roles as a defensive assistant under Bill Belichick in New England from 2008-2018, earning a reputation as a terrific defensive mind.
Flores was the head coach with the Dolphins from 2019-2021 and was fired after accumulating a 24-25 record. He then worked as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022 and put himself back on the head coaching radar with a productive three-year stint as the defensive coordinator with the Vikings.
The Vikings won nine games in 2025 despite a lack of stability at the quarterback position. They were third in yards allowed per play (4.7) in the NFL in 2025, another feather in Flores’ cap.
The biggest concern about a defensive head coach is the potential for a rotating cast of offensive coordinators, but ESPN analyst Benjamin Solak says that is often overblown.
“You have to just try to get the best guy in the building, and if it turns out that you hire Brian Flores and the defense is elite but one of the weird trickle-down issues is you have to change over the offensive coordinator spot, then you handle that,” Solak said on GCR Jan. 8. “You trust the guy to fill out the staff in a good way. There’s no one correct path that fits the model to find the best NFL head coach. You get nine guys in the building, you interview them, you talk to people they’ve worked with, you try to make the best choice and you admit when you’re wrong.”
In 2022, Flores sued the NFL and four teams (Broncos, Dolphins, Giants and Texans), alleging discriminatory hiring practices. That lawsuit has still not been settled.
“It’s an unfortunate circumstance, let’s call it that and leave it there,” Vikings Radio Network analyst Pete Bercich said on GCR Jan. 12. “It’s just a matter of, is there a team out there, an owner out there that’s willing to put all that aside and say, ‘Yeah, I want to give this guy a shot and let him be a head coach again?'”
Vance Joseph
Joseph interviewed with the Ravens on Jan. 8. The 53-year-old was the head coach of the Denver Broncos from 2017-2018, posting an 11-21 record with quarterbacks Case Keenum, Paxton Lynch, Brock Osweiler and Trevor Siemian. After that, he worked as the defensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals for four years (2019-2022) and then returned to Denver in the same role under head coach Sean Payton.
Denver allowed a league-low 4.5 yards per play in 2025, a key part of the Broncos securing the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
“Vance has done a phenomenal job,” Denver Sports 104.3 The Fan host Mark Schlereth said on GCR Jan. 12. “This defense in Denver the last two years has been exceptional. They are super, super aggressive. But they’ve got great players and they’ve developed great players. And I will tell you this, going back to Vance calling games in Arizona when Vance was the defensive coordinator over there — the guys loved playing for him. They absolutely loved playing for him.”
Schlereth said Joseph previously fell victim to common pitfalls for first-time head coaches, including being told which assistants he had to retain, and should be better prepared to build a staff this time around.
“When you’re a first-time head coach, you don’t necessarily have those relationships with enough coaches to really develop a staff,” Schlereth said. “I think one of the hard things about being a first-time head coach is putting a staff together because you’ve been somebody else’s tutelage for that time and you don’t have those connections.”
Jesse Minter
Minter interviewed with the Ravens on Jan. 14. The 42-year-old worked as a defensive assistant for the Ravens under John Harbaugh from 2017-2020, then served as Jim Harbaugh’s defensive coordinator at Michigan (2022-2023) and with the Los Angeles Chargers (2024-2025). He helped the Wolverines win a national championship in 2023.
The Chargers allowed 5.0 yards per play in 2025, 10th in the NFL. Minter runs a similar defense as Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald, who ran the Ravens’ defense from 2022-2023 before heading to the Pacific Northwest.
“There are definitely significant parallels. If you feel like you missed on Mike, then Jesse is probably the guy that you would want,” ESPN Chargers reporter Kris Rhim said on GCR Jan. 16. “I see those parallels for sure in terms of the defense they run, but also there are some parallels with the [Baltimore and Los Angeles defenses] just in personnel, the people that the Ravens have, and I think that starts with a guy like Kyle Hamilton. I think [Minter] would employ him the same way he employed Derwin James.”
One elephant in the room: Would the Ravens pick from the Harbaugh coaching tree right after firing John Harbaugh?
“What would be so bad about that? I’m not really sure,” Rhim said. “We don’t know what Jesse looks like as a head coach because we’ve never seen it. He’s seen guys from that Harbaugh tree, so I imagine it looks that way, but also, if you wanted Mike Macdonald, are fans saying he approaches it the Harbaugh way? Now all of a sudden, you don’t want that?”
Robert Saleh
Saleh interviewed with the Ravens on Jan. 18. The soon-to-be 47-year-old was the head coach of the New York Jets from 2021-2024, posting a 20-36 mark with quarterbacks Tim Boyle, Joe Flacco, Aaron Rodgers, Trevor Siemian, Chris Streveler, Zach Wilson and Mike White prior to being fired.
Saleh earned a reputation as a rising star as the defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers from 2018-2020 and returned to work for Kyle Shanahan in the same role this year. The 49ers finished the 2025 season 24th in yards allowed per play (5.6), but the unit took on a lot of water in terms of injuries. The Jets were among the top defenses in the league during Saleh’s last two full seasons in New York.
49ers radio analyst Tim Ryan says Saleh has a way of simplifying things for his players.
“Every play is a hypothesis,” Ryan said. “You’ve got to have an educated guess on what’s coming. Everyone learns differently. The way that Robert can get those guys prepared and get the young guys prepared on the defensive side of the ball speaks for itself. He is beloved in this building from top to bottom.”
Ryan also said Saleh would blow away Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti in an in-person interview setting.
“I’ll tell you this, you will not find a head coaching candidate that’s in better physical condition, that takes care of himself like Robert does,” Ryan said. “Family man, a guy you could take anywhere to be a spokesperson for your franchise. I think Steve would absolutely love him. When they do interview, if and when it does happen, Mr. Bisciotti is going to realize what kind of guy he just brought into the room.”
Update: Saleh was hired by the Tennessee Titans to be their head coach.
Jim Schwartz
A Baltimore native and Mount Saint Joseph graduate, Schwartz interviewed with the Ravens on Jan. 14. The 59-year-old was the head coach of the Detroit Lions from 2009-2013, posting a 29-51 mark after taking over a team that had gone 0-16 in 2008. His best season came in 2011, when the Lions went 10-6 behind a big season from quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Schwartz was a highly respected defensive coordinator prior to his run as a head coach in Detroit and has picked up where he left off since, winning a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles in February 2018. Most recently, he was the defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns from 2023-2025.
The Browns were fifth in the NFL in yards allowed per play (4.8) in 2025.
“I think he’s unfortunately pigeonholed into that coordinator role, and he’s a better coordinator than he is a head coach,” ESPN 850 Cleveland host Je’Rod Cherry said on GCR Jan. 13. “Granted, when you have the success he’s had as a coordinator, I get why you say that because the dynamics of being a coordinator and [being responsible for] one side of the ball, it’s much more challenging in all three phases. … I just think what we do is we fall in love with certain guys and then other guys we typecast and say, ‘This is all they’re good for,’ without giving them another chance.”
Chris Shula
Shula interviewed with the Ravens on Jan. 17. The soon-to-be 40-year-old is the grandson of former Baltimore Colts head coach Don Shula. He has been with the Los Angeles Rams since 2017, serving in a variety of roles before being elevated to the defensive coordinator position he has held since 2024. The Rams finished 13th in the NFL in yards allowed per play (5.2) this year.
Shula was connected to the Dolphins opening because his grandfather is one of the most legendary figures in South Florida sports history, but he has also carved out his own path.
“What he brings I guess is relentless truth and a forward-facing coach,” Rams radio analyst D’Marco Farr said on GCR Jan. 14. “He’s going to coach you right to your face. He is going to get the best out of you and more out of you than you knew was there. That’s all that defenders actually crave and really want. They want that relentless truth, not just some good stuff for the newspaper. He’s a guy that’s grown up in this business. He understands it. His dad was a coach. His grandfather was one of the greatest ever. So he’s got that instant respect.”
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