Safety Marcus Williams was one of the Ravens’ highest-paid players.
Trenton Simpson was drafted to be the successor to Pro Bowl inside linebacker Patrick Queen.
That neither played a single defensive snap in the playoffs despite being healthy reflected Baltimore’s defensive struggles over the first half of 2024 and the adjustments made to right the ship in such impression fashion. But we now know lineup changes weren’t the full extent of the fallout.
After bringing back former defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano to be senior secondary coach last week, the Ravens have hired former Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Tyler Santucci to be their new linebackers coach. Of course, the other side of those moves is the departure of longtime secondary coach and assistant head coach Chris Hewitt and inside linebackers coach Mark DeLeone as well as the unclear status of defensive backs coach Doug Mallory.
Hewitt had been part of Baltimore’s coaching staff since 2012, but the secondary typically performed best when he worked with another accomplished secondary coach such as Leslie Frazier (2016), Mike Macdonald (2017), Jesse Minter (2019-20), and Dennard Wilson (2023). DeLeone and Mallory were hired last February.
This isn’t to suggest the on-field struggles of Williams — who’s expected to be released next month — and Simpson fall solely on coaching by any means, but it’s not a secret that the defensive coaching staff endured extensive brain drain last offseason, which was a substantial factor in the poor defensive start to 2024. Not only did Macdonald leave to become Seattle’s head coach and Wilson and defensive line back Anthony Weaver depart to become coordinators in Tennessee and Miami respectively, but Zach Orr’s promotion to replace Macdonald as defensive coordinator vacated the inside linebackers coach position.
You’re rarely going to bat 1.000 replacing that many accomplished defensive assistants in one offseason, especially with a rookie coordinator. That’s a big reason why the Ravens brought back former defensive coordinator Dean Pees as a senior advisor last October. The 75-year-old Pees isn’t expected to return in a full-time capacity, which made hiring Pagano, 64, all the more appealing from an experience standpoint.
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The Ravens hope the 36-year-old Santucci — who served as Georgia Tech’s defensive coordinator in 2024 and as Duke’s defensive coordinator in 2023 — will bring a fresh perspective as someone who’s never coached in the NFL.
“We are excited about the addition of Tyler, who has excelled as a collegiate coach and is fully prepared to make the jump to this level,” head coach John Harbaugh said in a statement. “Tyler’s knowledge, passion, and collaborative qualities fit seamlessly within the culture of our coaching staff, and we’re excited for him to lead our linebackers group.”
Though not coming off his best season, All-Pro inside linebacker Roquan Smith probably doesn’t need quite as much hands-on guidance at this point in his career, so Santucci’s top objective will be getting more out of the 23-year-old Simpson. Malik Harrison and Chris Board — the veterans who combined to replace Simpson down the stretch — are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents.
General Eric DeCosta made clear that the organization hasn’t given up on Simpson, whom he called “an exciting young prospect” at last month’s season-ending press conference. The 2023 third-round pick out of Clemson started the first 13 games of 2024 before being benched after the Week 14 bye and playing a total of 15 defensive snaps over the final four regular-season contests.
“I think he’s a really, really good young player, developmental guy,” DeCosta said. “Obviously, like a lot of our young players, they have their ups and downs and their growing pains, but I think his future’s very bright. We’ve seen guys like him have their moments and then end up being really, really good players, and I would expect that.
“This guy’s young, very athletic. He can run, he’s very explosive, he has a huge care factor, and it’s our job to get that out of him. I think we will.”
Monken extension official
8With the NFL head coach hiring cycle winding down and reports that offensive coordinator Todd Monken wouldn’t be going anywhere, the Ravens officially announced a contract extension with the 58-year-old assistant on Monday.
In just Monken’s second season in Baltimore, the Ravens became the first team in NFL history to record 4,000 passing yards and 3,000 rushing yards. Averaging a robust 6.8 yards per play, they also became the first team in league history to eclipse 40 passing touchdowns and 20 rushing touchdowns in a season.
On Thursday, we’ll learn whether star quarterback Lamar Jackson becomes the sixth man in NFL history to win back-to-back league AP MVP awards, a list that includes Jim Brown (1957-58), Joe Montana (1989-90), Brett Favre (1995-97), Peyton Manning (2003-04 and 2008-09), and Aaron Rodgers (2020-21). Jackson has praised Monken for helping him improve and giving him more pre-snap responsibilities at the line of scrimmage.
