The Baltimore Ravens are going to look a little bit different in 2026, at least when it comes to their coaching staff. After firing John Harbaugh in a stunning move, the Ravens moved quickly to replace him with former Los Angeles Chargers‘ defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. In the wake of being hired, Minter has worked quickly on filling out his coaching staff.
While Baltimore missed out on Jim Leonhard, who was reportedly their top defensive coordinator target, they did manage to steal Declan Doyle from the Chicago Bears to come in and be their new offensive coordinator. And now, Minter is bringing back one of the team’s former coaches, Charlie Gelman, to fill an important role on his staff.
Ravens Tab Charlie Gelman as New Game Management Coordinator
One of the challenging parts for Minter when it comes to filling out his coaching staff is that both Harbaugh and former offensive coordinator Todd Monken have landed head coaching jobs of their own. As a result, they are both poaching coordinators from Minter’s staff, meaning that he is pretty much going to have to fill every position with a new face this offseason.
So far, Minter has done a decent job of bringing new faces to town. Another job opened up, though, when director of football strategy and assistant quarterbacks coach Daniel Stern bolted for the Cleveland Browns, joining Monken’s staff as his associate head coach. And yet, it hasn’t taken long for Minter to find a proper replacement, from the sounds of it.
Stern’s old position is being rebranded as game management coordinator for Baltimore, with Gelman being brought to fill that role after spending the past three seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. In addition to his game management duties, Gelman will be working as a defensive assistant for Minter.
“Ravens are hiring former Colts assistant Charlie Gelman as their Game Management Coordinator and defensive assistant,” Adam Schefter of ESPN reported in a post on X. “Gelman will replace Daniel Stern, who is expected to become the Browns’ associate head coach.”
Ravens’ Coaching Staff Beginning to Come Together
GettyDefensive coordinator Jesse Minter of the Los Angeles Chargers rejected the Browns and took the Ravens job.
The amount of turnover Minter has had to deal with on his coaching staff right off the bat isn’t easy, but it will ensure that he truly wants to work with every coach who is on his staff. Gelman has experience working for the Ravens already, which will make him a reliable option for Minter to lean on as he takes over his new team.
Still, the big item on Minter’s to-do list right now involves finding a defensive coordinator. While defense is Minter’s specialty, he’s going to have a lot on his plate in his first season as Baltimore’s head coach, which means it will be important for him to hire the proper candidate to fill this role. So while Gelman’s hire is noteworthy, all eyes are on Minter to see who he lands on as his defensive coordinator.
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