Jesse Minter knows his Baltimore Ravens history, based on who the new head coach is talking to about being his first defensive coordinator. A favorite of an outstanding former Ravens DC, Rex Ryan.
Minter and the Ravens are “believed to be interviewing” Jim Leonhard, the defensive pass-game coordinator and assistant head coach of the Denver Broncos. That’s according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, who noted “Leonhard also has interest from the #Bills.”
Leonhard spent the 2008 season playing safety in Ryan’s defense, before following his coach to a three-year stint with the New York Jets. The experience with Ryan means Leonhard is well-versed in executing and calling sophisticated blitz concepts, the kind the Ravens need to improve what was a vanilla pass rush during 2025.
That same need makes Leonhard a strong candidate because while the Ravens were struggling to get to quarterbacks, the Broncos led the NFL with 68 sacks. It marked the second season in a row the defense Leonhard helped design topped the league charts in quarterback takedowns.
The Ravens making their interest in Leonhard formal is an exciting sign of how Minter will want his defense to operate. Although one note of caution is provided by how the first-year head coach intends to run things on this side of the ball.
Jim Leonhard Can Bring Broncos Blueprint to Ravens
Putting pressure on the pocket has been a happy habit for the Broncos, so emulating their formula would be a good starting point for Minter’s Ravens. He’d find Leonhard an ideal sounding board, as someone who has extensive, first-hand knowledge of the interconnected relationship between coverage and pressure.
He learned most of it from Ryan, who spent four years calling defenses in Baltimore from 2005-08. The Ryan system was based upon fire-zone blitz concepts and principles of the famed ’46’ defense created by his father Buddy Ryan.
Leonhard played in a spot where he was able to call coverages for Ryan’s elaborate mix of zone and blitz. Ryan knew all about Leonhard’s best qualities, heralding him as “a smart player that can get guys lined up in the secondary,” when bringing him to the Jets back in 2009.
The same qualities have helped Leonhard make strides as an assistant coach. Particularly with the Broncos, who were near the top of the league with a 28.5 blitz percentage this season, per Pro Football Reference.
Things looked a lot different for the Ravens, who sent pressure 23.6 percent of the time. The nett result of that level of blitzing was a mere 30 sacks.
Boosting that number must be the priority for whoever becomes the Ravens’ next DC, although that person can expect to see a key responsibility handled by Minter.
Jesse Minter Making 1 Big Change to Defense
Calling plays won’t be the purview of the next coordinator in Baltimore. Not when Minter has already claimed that job for himself.
It’s a significant change in the way the Ravens do things. Almost two decades of John Harbaugh, a former special teams coach, at the helm meant defensive coordinators had a high level of autonomy.
Minter reducing that freedom could impact which of the top candidates view the Ravens as a good landing spot. Especially when their schemes will have to mesh with the Minter system.
His Los Angeles Chargers defense blitzed just 19 percent of the time in 2025, so there’s a discrepancy between what Minter calls and how Leonhard does things. If the new coach can make concessions to a more aggressive brand of defense, landing Leonhard could be quite the coup, particularly after the Ravens already lost a “respected” coach from Minter’s first staff.
Ravens Interviewing Rex Ryan Favorite for DC Job: Report