The Ravens may have fired John Harbaugh, but they have no intention of letting his top lieutenants follow him to New York.
Baltimore has blocked a lateral move for special teams coordinator Chris Horton, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, preventing him from taking the same position on Harbaugh’s new staff. For the moment, the Ravens are holding onto assistant special teams coordinator Anthony Levine and senior special teams coach Randy Brown, though that could change once they land on a new head coach.
Harbaugh came up as a special teams coordinator, so it is no surprise he wants to bring his special teams assistants to New York. Brown worked with Harbaugh in Philadelphia and joined his original staff in Baltimore as a kicking consultant. Horton got his NFL start in Baltimore in 2014, while Levine was a Ravens special teams ace for a decade before retiring and joining their coaching staff. Levine currently has interest from the Buccaneers in their coordinator position, which would be a promotion that the Ravens cannot block.
The Giants, nonetheless, plan to continue undeterred with their pursuit of Ravens coaches, as well as employees in other roles. The team could submit 20 or more interview requests, per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. Baltimore may not be able to block all of those requests, which could force individuals to choose between their loyalty to Harbaugh and their loyalty to the Ravens.
Of course, Baltimore’s new head coach may be more willing to let certain coaches go as he fills his staff. Like Harbaugh, he could draw from the ranks of his former team, which could put the Ravens in the same position that the Giants are in right now.
Seems reasonable.
hopefully they get the same treatment in return, that’s reasonable too
Seems dumb to bring the same bad coaches that sucked in Baltimore but I guess he knows they’ll all kiss his butt.
Baltimore’s Special Teams were ranked around #8 this past season. Giants #28. But go on…
Ravens need to pick up the pace hiring their coach, unless they’ve already identified him and are just waiting to announce after Super Bowl. Otherwise, they’re missing out on a lot of good assistants going elsewhere.
Chances are they slowed the roll when McDermott was fired this week. I’d be very surprised if he’s not eventually named to that position based on the fit and his roots in nearby Philadelphia.
Seems petty to me. Granted the new coach doesn’t want them they still get paid but why hold a guy back from long term employment
Don Barzini: “A refusal is not the act of a friend”
The Ravens are not even in the same conference. This does seem petty. Their new coach won’t want Harbaugh’s posse.
What’s missing here, IMO, is what really happened in Baltimore. Lamar Jackson is getting lazy. Rebelling. Not being a great teammate. Sleeping in meetings, a no show to optional workouts. Other than awards, Lamar hasn’t won anything and is getting older and more expensive.
This article framing this as the Ravens “blocking” interviews is so disingenuous. Teams routinely deny lateral moves during coaching transitions. It’s standard NFL business, not pettiness or drama.
Yes, you are right about lateral moves, when the head coach stays in place.
Normally when a head coach is dismissed, the other coaches are released as well. This will probably happen in Baltimore as well. But when they release all their assistant coaches and coaching assistants, the jobs will already be gone.