The Baltimore Ravens have been busy to start the offseason. After shockingly deciding to fire longtime head coach John Harbaugh, the Ravens hired former Los Angeles Chargers‘ defensive coordinator Jesse Minter to come in and replace him. Now that Minter is in town, he is looking to begin building out his coaching staff in Baltimore.
This isn’t Minter’s first stint with the Ravens, as he previously worked with the team from 2017 to 2020 in several different roles. During his time there, Minter worked with Joe Cullen, who is currently the Kansas City Chiefs‘ defensive line coach. Given their familiarity, it looks like Cullen has emerged as an early frontrunner to be Minter’s defensive coordinator.
Ravens Request to Interview Joe Cullen for Defensive Coordinator Opening
Seeing Baltimore lock in on Minter as its top head coach target shouldn’t be much of a surprise. He’s spent the past few years working for Harbaugh’s brother, Jim Harbaugh, with the Chargers, and as mentioned above, he’s familiar with the Ravens. His strong defensive background made him an appealing candidate, and with Lamar Jackson at quarterback, he has a head start when it comes to building out the offensive side of the ball.
Assembling a coaching staff is going to be Minter’s first big task with Baltimore. Both offensive coordinator Todd Monken and defensive coordinator Zach Orr won’t be returning to their respective roles, meaning Minter is going to have to find guys who can come in and be his top two assistants.
On the defensive side of the ball, Cullen appears to be an immediate target for Minter, given their history working together. Since 2006, Cullen has worked almost exclusively as a defensive line coach, with the exception being in 2021, when he was the Jacksonville Jaguars‘ defensive coordinator. Now, he could get a shot to earn his second defensive coordinator gig, as the Ravens have requested to interview him for their opening.
“Ravens requested to interview Chiefs defensive line coach Joe Cullen — who previously spent five years coaching in Baltimore — for their defensive coordinator job,” Adam Schefter of ESPN reported in a post on X.
Should the Ravens Hire Joe Cullen?
GettyThe Ravens have requested to interview Chiefs’ defensive line coach Joe Cullen for their defensive coordinator opening
Baltimore is very early in the process of finding its new defensive coordinator, but Cullen is a logical option. Similar to Minter, he has spent time with the Ravens before, working as their defensive line coach from 2016 to 2020. More importantly, though, is his familiarity with Minter. First-year head coaches need to have guys they can lean on at their coordinator position, and Minter knows exactly what he’d be getting with Cullen.
Assuming all goes well in his interview, Cullen would be a logical hire for Minter at defensive coordinator. The Chiefs have to give the OK for him to actually interview for this position, but it seems like they will allow him to do so. Again, it’s early in this process, but Cullen is a sensible candidate who could very well end up becoming the Ravens’ new defensive coordinator.
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