Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and new defensive coordinator Zach Orr have a lot of work to do to fill out Baltimore’s defensive staff with assistant head coach and defensive line coach Anthony Weaver becoming the latest to depart for a promotion elsewhere.
A day after Harbaugh praised Weaver for being “a phenomenal leader” and doing great work running the Ravens’ defensive front, the 43-year-old will become the defensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins. Weaver played on the defensive line for Baltimore from 2002-05 and had served as the Ravens’ defensive line coach since 2021. He also interviewed with Washington and Atlanta for their head coach openings last month.
This will be Weaver’s second stint as an NFL coordinator after he ran the Houston defense in 2020, a stint that concluded after one season with the dismissal of Texans head coach Bill O’Brien.
“He’ll be a great head coach,” Harbaugh said. “He didn’t get hired this cycle and great coaches got hired, but someday, some people are going to look back and they’re going to say, ‘We had a chance to hire Anthony Weaver.’ I guarantee you that. They’re going to see that they missed their chance. The next time around, somebody’s not going to miss their chance. That’s how I feel about Anthony.”
Weaver becomes the third defensive coach to leave the organization, joining former defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald (new Seattle head coach) and former defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson (new Tennessee defensive coordinator). The Ravens must also hire a new inside linebackers coach with Orr replacing Macdonald. Pass game coordinator and secondary coach Chris Hewitt is the longest-tenured member of Baltimore’s defensive staff and is expected to remain after being interviewed by Jacksonville for its defensive coordinator opening, a job that went to former New Orleans and Atlanta assistant Ryan Nielsen.
The Ravens also lost director of player personnel Joe Hortiz, who was hired to become general manager of the Los Angeles Chargers earlier this week.
