Jesse Minter didn’t just address his players at Ravens training camp - he put on a show.
The first-year Baltimore head coach stepped in front of the team and broke into a rap performance during an outing, leaning into Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” while his players reacted with cheers. It was a light, unexpected moment from a coach who has already started putting his own stamp on the Ravens as they work through camp and prepare for their second preseason game on Saturday against the Minnesota Vikings.
Baltimore is coming off a strong preseason opener, too. The Ravens beat the Eagles 24-7 last Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium and never gave Philadelphia a chance to get into the game, controlling it from start to finish.
For Minter, the moment also fit the bigger picture of where he is now in his career. Baltimore brought him in during January after he spent the previous two seasons as the Los Angeles Chargers’ defensive coordinator. He also already knows the organization well, having worked for the Ravens from 2017 through 2020.
That kind of comfort showed in front of the team. Minter looked at ease delivering the rap, and the scene gave players a glimpse of the personality behind the headset.
His path to this job has been a long one. Minter started coaching at Notre Dame in 2006 as a defensive intern, then moved to Cincinnati as a graduate assistant from 2007 to 2008. From there, the 43-year-old - the son of a football coach - went to Indiana State, coaching linebackers from 2009 to 2010 before becoming defensive coordinator in 2011 and holding that role through 2012.
Georgia State was next, where he served as defensive coordinator from 2013 through 2016. His work there drew attention, and the Panthers reached the first bowl game in program history in 2015.
The Ravens hired Minter in 2017, and he spent three seasons as a defensive assistant before becoming the team’s defensive backs coach in 2020. He then returned to college football for a year at Vanderbilt before Michigan came calling.
Now he’s back in Baltimore in the biggest role of all. Minter is the fourth head coach in franchise history.
In Other News...
Chargers Leave Ugly Loss With Two Bigger Problems Than The Score
The Chargers preseason loss to the 49ers was messy enough on the scoreboard, but the bigger concern came from everything around it. Penalties, missed assignments and an offense that never found much rhythm made it a rough night for a team still trying to set its tone under Jim Harbaugh, and the coach did not hide from the fact that the details were not good enough.
Tyler Biadaszs left ACL injury only adds to the unease, because the center spot now has to be reworked on the fly. Rookie Jake Slaughter is expected to slide into the starting job, while Harbaugh also has an unsettled backup quarterback battle still hanging over the roster, leaving the Chargers with more to sort out than a lopsided preseason score. [Read more 🡒]
Chargers Roster Battle Took A Harsh Turn In Preseason Loss
The preseason trip against the 49ers was less about the final score than the Chargers ongoing roster audit, and several players made cases for themselves in live action. Junior Colson stood out on defense with an interception and multiple tackles, Devin Grant also came away with a pick, and Gregory Desrosiers led the running backs in rushing yards, all of it the kind of production that can matter when coaches start narrowing down jobs.
Not every audition went smoothly, though, and Devonte Ross had a rough moment when a muffed punt undercut his chance to build momentum. In a game designed to sort out the back end of the roster, those kinds of mistakes can linger just as long as the highlights, which is why the Chargers will likely spend as much time studying the errors as the takeaways from a night that brought clarity to some spots and more pressure to others. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Leave Chargers Game With A Bigger Concern Than The Score
A preseason game can fade quickly once the result is in the books, and Sundays matchup in Los Angeles felt like one of those nights for the 49ers. They left with a win over the Chargers, but the bigger concern was the list of players who were banged up along the way, including offensive lineman Austen Pleasants, cornerback Renardo Green and linebacker Nick Martin, all of whom exited with injuries.
Kyle Shanahan said Pleasants knee injury is not an ACL tear, while Green and Martin are still waiting on more imaging after hamstring issues. Left guard Robert Jones is also dealing with an unspecified injury that could affect his availability for the next game, giving San Francisco plenty to monitor even as the preseason calendar keeps moving. [Read more 🡒]