The Baltimore Ravens world will change on Thursday as new head coach Jesse Minter will lead the football team into battle. Luke Jones and Nestor discuss the snowy NFL Championship Game day and the wild finish of the season and its ties to many coaching jobs around the league as Minter looks to add staff.
Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discussed the snowy Championship game and the Ravens’ plans with Jesse Minter. They highlighted the Seahawks’ chances in the Super Bowl, noting Mike McDonald’s role in building the roster. They debated the hiring of Mike McCarthy by the Steelers, contrasting it with the Ravens’ approach. The conversation also covered the importance of Lamar Jackson’s contract extension, the potential impact of new coordinators, and the need for a cohesive offseason plan. They mentioned the upcoming press conference with Jesse Minter and the potential for new coaching hires, emphasizing the need for a fresh start and improved team dynamics.
Action Items
- [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Attend and host ‘A Cup of Soup or Bowl’ live show appearances next week at the listed venues: Monday at Fayettely’s, Tuesday at El Guapo in Catonsville, Wednesday at Koco’s in Lauraville, Thursday at Pizza John’s in Essex, and Friday at Acosta Sentimonium; promote the events on-air and represent the show
- [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Prepare and finalize questions to ask Jesse Minter at the Thursday press conference (compile topics and priority questions beforehand)
Outline
Super Bowl Weekend and Weather Updates
- Nestor Aparicio discusses the snowy championship game in Denver and the Patriots’ Super Bowl appearance.
- Nestor mentions his plans for the week, including events at various locations in Baltimore.
- Nestor jokes about avoiding the snow and ice by staying indoors and watching football.
- Nestor and Luke Jones talk about the Seahawks’ chances in the Super Bowl and the impact of Mike McDonald on the team.
Seahawks’ Chances and Quarterback Pedigree
- Luke Jones and Nestor discuss the Seahawks’ chances in the Super Bowl, noting the team’s changes since the last Super Bowl appearance.
- They highlight the Seahawks’ front office’s work in building the roster and the impact of Sam Darnold’s performance.
- Nestor and Luke reflect on the pedigree of quarterbacks like Sam Darnold and how they can emerge as successful players.
- They discuss the challenges and opportunities for quarterbacks like Brock Purdy and Tom Brady.
Mike McCarthy’s Hiring and Steelers’ Situation
- Nestor and Luke discuss the Steelers’ hiring of Mike McCarthy and the implications for the team.
- They talk about the Steelers’ need for a fresh start and the potential impact of McCarthy’s coaching style.
- Nestor mentions his interactions with NFL owners and the importance of owner comfort in hiring decisions.
- They reflect on the Steelers’ recent performance and the need for a strategic approach to rebuilding the team.
Jesse Minter’s Impact and Coaching Changes
- Nestor and Luke discuss Jesse Minter’s role and the potential changes in the Ravens’ coaching staff.
- They talk about the importance of getting the offensive coordinator hire right and the potential candidates.
- Nestor mentions the impact of Lamar Jackson’s involvement in the hiring process.
- They discuss the potential for new coaches to bring fresh perspectives and improve the team’s performance.
Lamar Jackson’s Contract and Team Dynamics
- Nestor and Luke discuss the importance of Lamar Jackson’s contract extension and its impact on the team.
- They talk about the potential challenges and opportunities in restructuring Lamar’s contract.
- Nestor emphasizes the need for Lamar to be more involved and visible in the offseason.
- They reflect on the dynamics between Lamar and the coaching staff and the importance of a strong relationship.
Coordinator Hires and Staffing Decisions
- Nestor and Luke discuss the potential coordinator hires and the impact on the Ravens’ staff.
- They talk about the importance of getting the right coordinators to complement Jesse Minter’s vision.
- Nestor mentions the potential for new coaches to bring fresh perspectives and improve the team’s performance.
- They discuss the challenges of coordinator hires and the importance of getting the right fit for the team.
Owner Involvement and Team Strategy
- Nestor and Luke discuss the role of ownership in the hiring process and the importance of their comfort level.
- They talk about the potential impact of ownership decisions on the team’s strategy and performance.
- Nestor mentions the importance of aligning the team’s goals with the owner’s vision.
- They reflect on the challenges of balancing ownership involvement and coaching autonomy.
Super Bowl Predictions and Team Performance
- Nestor and Luke discuss their predictions for the Super Bowl and the potential outcomes.
- They talk about the strengths and weaknesses of the teams involved and the impact of coaching decisions.
- Nestor mentions the importance of the quarterback’s performance in determining the outcome.
- They reflect on the potential for upsets and the importance of team dynamics in the big game.
Offseason Plans and Team Building
- Nestor and Luke discuss the Ravens’ offseason plans and the importance of team building.
- They talk about the potential for new coaches to bring fresh perspectives and improve the team’s performance.
- Nestor mentions the importance of getting the right coordinators to complement Jesse Minter’s vision.
- They discuss the challenges of offseason planning and the need for a strategic approach to team building.
Final Thoughts and Future Outlook
They talk about the potential for new coaches to bring fresh perspectives and improve the team’s performance.
Nestor and Luke reflect on the potential impact of the upcoming changes on the Ravens’ performance.
They discuss the importance of getting the right coordinators and staff in place.
Nestor emphasizes the need for Lamar Jackson’s involvement and visibility in the offseason.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Super Bowl, Ravens, Jesse Minter, Lamar Jackson, Mike McCarthy, Steelers, coordinators, contract extension, NFL, championship game, press conference, coaching staff, offseason, Baltimore positive.
SPEAKERS
Luke Jones, Nestor Aparicio
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
Welcome home. We are W NST am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We call this thing Baltimore positive. I tell you to put us on in your car radio. But nobody’s in their car right now, so Baltimore positive has it going on, which is better than the old days, because all we had was radio. We needed you in the car. We love you in the car. But if you’re home and you’re safe and you’re dry and you’re not being killed by ice over the weekend, either way, this kind of ice or the other ice that we welcome you in, it is, it’s Super Bowl time. Luke and I would be heading off to Santa Clara right now and hanging out in downtown San Francisco, probably, probably drinking too much tequila if I were, and probably avoiding some of this crap we have here, but because Chad steel blackballed me, we will be doing a cup of soup or bowl next week instead, beginning on Monday at fayettely’s, God the weather, the weather, the weather. Tuesday, we’re going to be at El Guapo in Catonsville. Moved across street from state fair there. Wednesday, we will be at Koco’s in lauraville. Thursday, we moved the show to Essex and pizza John’s. I got some old childhood friends coming. Friends coming over for that might be able to lure Luke Jones over for that as well. And on Friday, we will be Acosta sentimonium. It is a cup of soup or bowl. It is all brought to you by friends at the Maryland lottery. I swear I have a lottery ticket here. Smells like winter candy cane cash smells like a foot of snow and a little bit of sleet on the championship game Sunday. Luke Jones is here now, um, I don’t know. I mean, I don’t know if I can dig out for the press conference on Thursday, so you can have my seat when they bring Jesse Minter in. But what a weekend, you know? I mean, the snow globe championship game that’s decided on a fingertip block kick in Denver, and the Patriots are going to the Super Bowl. Can’t say I’m excited about that. You know, I kind of have always sort of liked the Seahawks until I met Earl Thomas, but, but I was a Pete Carroll guy, and you remember the big green thing up in New York City a decade ago and all of that. So I can get down with the Seahawks, and I certainly can get down with our mutual pal, Mike McDonald, going for a ring here and being a four and a half point favorite out Santa Clara next week. We’re all trapped at home, Luke, but football, the NFL, as long as we have electricity, marches on.
Luke Jones 02:17
It does and we’re going to have a Super Bowl rematch from what was that to the 2013 14 season. So that’s, I
Nestor Aparicio 02:26
just think that they play before, and I’m like, Oh, they should have run the ball at the goal line
Luke Jones 02:30
exactly, exactly. So this is a chance. This is a chance for the Seahawks, albeit a completely different team. I mean, no one left over from a decade ago, but a chance for, how about, we say, the Seahawks fan base to right a wrong from a decade ago and win a Super Bowl. And as you mentioned, I mean, certainly a reminder of the great work that Mike McDonald has done there, that their front office has done there, in terms of putting together a roster that wasn’t awful when Mike McDonald arrived, but certainly needed to make some some tweaks and some adjustments. And, you know, they got rid of Geno Smith last year, and they bring in Sam darnold And lo and behold, for all the talk of Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen in this 2018 draft class, you had a
Nestor Aparicio 03:18
Super Bowl quarterback on the market last year. Nobody wanted him, right? Literally, nobody wanted him.
Luke Jones 03:22
You know, you have Lamar Jackson, you have Josh Allen, two MVP quarterbacks. Baker Mayfield has been more highly regarded in recent years, and Sam darnold’s the one going to a Super Bowl first so, but if I would
Nestor Aparicio 03:33
have told you the day that kid was drafted, he’s a number three overall pick that he could struggle in New York, imagine and re emerge somewhere else as a 30 year old man and throw for 350 yards and have 150 clean sheet in a championship game at home. You know, you’re the pedigree for it. You know? I mean, like this isn’t, this isn’t Brock Purdy. This isn’t even Tom Brady, who didn’t have the pedigree for it, or Lamar.
Luke Jones 04:03
But it wasn’t just the Jets. It was also going to Carolina. It was being a backup in San Francisco. It’s what happened with the Vikings last year, after he had a strong season, but then at the end of the year, was horrible in their two biggest games. So I’m with you, and I hear your point, and certainly he was very highly decorated at
Nestor Aparicio 04:24
US skin improve, you know I mean,
Luke Jones 04:27
but it’s still no and I’m not disparaged.
Nestor Aparicio 04:31
And a decade later, it’s like he didn’t do it, like, literally, he was the greatest there ever was for four weeks, won a Super Bowl through miracle passes, completed back shoulder. The did all of that, and it’s forgotten because he’s not Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. I mean, he won’t have a day in Canton, you know, and I don’t think Sam darnold, the one guy that’s transcended that was the guy he beat Stafford’s transcended, as Kurt Warner did later on. And that staffer was a one, one way different than boxing things in Iowa. But if you’re talking quarterbacks, I’m never shocked when guys who are pedigree guys wind up finding it later. And that goes for pitchers, too, by the way, or for Ryan O’Hearn, or, you know, anybody else who’s a late bloomer but high potential. It takes them time to figure it out, because not everybody figures it out like Jackson holiday, you know,
Luke Jones 05:27
well, and it’s also a reminder that it is a team game. I mean, Matthew Stafford was a good quarterback in Detroit, but he didn’t have a whole lot around him, and that was more so the problem than Matthew Stafford being this lesser quarterback, right? And that’s not to say that joining Sean McVay and in LA didn’t help his career, because, of course, it would, coaching matters, and that’s maybe the big theme there. As we bring it back to talking about Mike McDonald and in the wake of the Ravens hiring Jesse Minter to be as I said to you, I mean as much as, yeah, you look at the horrible thing, I think you also look at the mike McDonald thing, though, and you remember those two were contemporaries in Baltimore. Are they best friends, or they perceive such I don’t know if I’d say they’re best friends, but they’re they work together. They’re close. They, they like each other. They, they root for each other. They, I wonder how often guys do to I wonder how often Lamar Jackson will ever send John Harbaugh text now that, or how often John Harbaugh texts with anybody in his past life, like once this season is this season, say they were Mike Tomlin or even Sean Payton. I don’t know. You know, I, I wonder about the strength of those relationships in that way, because it’s a small circle in that way.
Nestor Aparicio 06:43
And hardball’s best friend was always perceived as being spagnolo from my innards that like that was his guy, that was his buddy, brought him here to work. We talked about giants coaches. It didn’t work out. And even get to him with Ian O’Connor. The other day, I did a great piece with Ian O’Connor on John Harbaugh and where that thing’s going. But the relationships in the circle of all of this really leads to how the coordinators are going to happen this week, too, and who knows who and who gets jobs in Buffalo and these other places. It is really complex, and we haven’t been in it in 18 years. Other than are we going to lose our coordinator to Seattle, right? But being in the middle of all of this, especially for Jesse Minter, Eric Decosta, the snowstorm, really busy week, man. I mean, for being shut down around there’s lots going to happen between now and Thursday, when Minter hits the stage in Owings Mills,
Luke Jones 07:35
no question about it. I mean, it’s complicated, because you can sit here and say, Okay, I like that guy is my offensive coordinator, or I like that guy is my offensive coordinator, and I’d like to bring in those two individuals, or those, you know, two other guys for a job, but go and look at some of these names. I mean, these are guys that are getting second interviews with some of the other openings that are still out there, not for an offensive coordinator, but for a head coach. You can talk all you want about the Ravens OC job and its perception compared to some of the other coordinator jobs. But you can’t sit here and say that too many guys are going to turn down an opportunity to be a head coach somewhere, even if it is Vegas or Cleveland or someplace where you say there’s probably not the greatest percentage chance of success, but it’s one of 32 jobs compared to being a coordinator. So I think that’s where things are so fast, the only one
Nestor Aparicio 08:28
that would turn down those jobs a guy like, she’ll ask one of the really young guys that feels like, I’ll get a better opportunity, the guys that Jim Schwartz has to take the job that you know if he gets the job for him, yeah, that’s a little bit
Luke Jones 08:40
different when you’re talking about someone who has kind of kind of tested out and is trying to dive back into that group,
Nestor Aparicio 08:47
so to speak. If you’re Joe Kelly, do you want the Cleveland job, or do you want to come and run Lamar for a year?
Luke Jones 08:52
Yeah. I mean, yeah, but that said, I mean, you just said with shield house, I mean, but you never know what’s going to happen. How many times they’re as much as we don’t remember them because we don’t remember them. There are scenarios where guys are the hot coordinator, and then they decide to stick around, or they don’t get a certain job, and you say, Okay, well, they’re going to be hired next year.
Nestor Aparicio 09:14
And Brian Flores should have been a head
Luke Jones 09:17
coach in this league for the last decade, right? Like he took that jumps job down in Miami and and it hasn’t been the same ever since, you know what I mean, they were turning on him, ditching on him, trying, trying to get a pick and a tank for two, all of that, you know. And he hasn’t been right. And he’s African American, and all these jobs are going to white guys, so they’re that’s way deeper into this than you then makes you comfortable speaking about to be really honest with you, gets way deeper into that, with the Rooney role in the league and opportunities as well if you fail. I fully acknowledge that, but I’ll give you an example of a couple years ago. Bobby Slovic was the Houston offensive coordinator when CJ Stroud was a rookie. He was a hot coordinator. Name. At that point in time, he decided to stay in Houston, and I’m not sure if he definitively was going to get a head coach job. Where is he a couple years later, he’s not in Houston anymore. In fact, I think he’s going to Miami now, I believe. But point is, even someone right now that you perceive as being a can’t miss head coach prospect who he could be selective. And I’m not saying that there aren’t times where it doesn’t work out. I mean, Ben Johnson was someone who decided to stay in Detroit an extra year or two, and that worked out just fine for him, ask the bears right now. So, but it is a lot to just make an assumption and say, yes, our coordinator job, or this coordinator job, is way better than becoming the head coach of the Cleveland Browns or of the Las Vegas Raiders. It’s easier said than done, saying that when you’re the outsider, compared to being the guy that has worked 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, to be in the position they’re in now, to become a head coach in the National Football League. Well, that’s Jesse Minter spot, right now, right? Like, and that’s where you look at it, right? Yeah. So, I mean, it’s, and it’s one thing to talk about Jesse Minter, who’s taken what’s perceived to be a great job. It’s another thing to talk about someone else who Mike McCarthy, who, yeah, I mean, what do you think of that higher? I just want to hear your thoughts on that, because I have my
Nestor Aparicio 11:26
thoughts, well, I want to go back to this, like, to be really on I’m different than than anybody else on the radio. I mean, I’ve had dinner with Mr. Rooney, right? You mean, so, like, I’ve been, I’ve been at that sort of and I’ve also had dinner with Jim Irsay, and I’ve also had dinner with Bob Kraft and like, they’re all different billionaires, and what’s going to make them comfortable? Like, I see a Dan Campbell, like I saw Antonio Pierce on television over the weekend. He had five minutes in Vegas with Marvin. And Marvin, you know, Marvin and I got together recently. It wasn’t fair. You gave him one year and you gave him who was the quarterback when they beat our ass here last year, the guy with the beard that lives in the van that lives down by the river, the guy to play for Jacksonville, not Baker Mayfield. A funny name, Gardner Minshew. Gardner Minshew, yeah, I knew I had a funny name. Wasn’t a baker. He was a gardener. Sorry. I knew it was something around the house that you do and he’s unemployed and on TV, and Mike Tomlin wants to get to TV. Coward never came back from TV, neither did Billick. You know, some of these guys, there are other opportunities out there, but the job and the situation and the owner and the owner’s comfort level with having a grown up, or I’m going to groom a young guy, which I don’t think you and I believe bashati had the belly for, like we kind of thought veteran team, maybe. And you were telling me shield house in the beginning. And I was saying, well, they’re bringing in Schwartz and the owners talking about bringing in guys that have done it before, that they might be more comfortable with that, where they are trying to win right here, right now, that kind of pressure. I don’t know that they have that pressure in Pittsburgh, but I know hometown guy, guy that knows his way around, guy that’s managed two big buildings, a guy who’s going to be much more CEO, I think, at this point in his life, and probably looks at this as a five year assignment. I think they would look at it as we like Mike McCarthy to be the guy here coming home to hire the Nate shield house next year or the year after that, and put something together here that feels more like what Atlanta is trying to do with Matt Ryan, except we’re doing it with a grown up in the way that I don’t know. The Arizona Diamondbacks brought Buck Showalter in to pick the carpet, you know, 100 years ago, thinking they need a football person. That’s a Pittsburgh football person. Bill Cowher doesn’t want to be that guy. Mike Tomlin is not going to be that guy. So I think the Rooney family may be looking at this as something like, all right, he’ll be here for 10 years. You’ll coach the first whatever, and we’ll get our ish together here and get a quarterback. And this guy knows quarterback. That’s what I think of the mccar. I didn’t think of it as I’m a Steeler fan. They don’t have enough they don’t have enough they don’t have enough players to win the Super Bowl next year, as I see it. If I were Steelers fan, I’d look at it like that and say, how, how would you strategize it? Would you bring in a 30 year old hot shot football coach when you’re not even sure what you are at this point? Or would you bring in somebody to sort of settle the ship a little bit? I don’t know. I think that’s the way they looked at it when they they did it, and it’s special and different, because he’s from there. He’s a decorated guy. He knows what he’s doing. He clearly wants the gig. He has the he has a taste to go do it. And I’m not a Mike McCarthy guy one way or another, but I don’t think it’s, I didn’t think it was that land. Just some of the Steelers fans, like I saw somebody said it’s like, poop in your pants and changing your shirt. I thought that was interesting and funny, but, but, you know, and I’ll say that on the radio, it’s funny, but I I don’t see it like that. And I think fans forget how qualified Mike McCarthy is, because he went down and played with the circus in Dallas for a while.
Luke Jones 15:18
Yeah, I think the problems aren’t Rooney. I mean point blank, if you heard his comments in the aftermath of Tomlin resigning and stepping down, he doesn’t want to rebuild. Okay, continue to enjoy your 10 and seven, at best, nine and eight. I mean, stay that. But they could have had Sam darnold Last year, but they didn’t. They didn’t, okay? They didn’t get Malik Wallace right now, right? I mean, they could, I just to me
Nestor Aparicio 15:46
for Lamar could be pissed off in five minutes and be somewhere else. I mean, that like any quarterback that that any of that Kirk Koco’s on television the other day. Look, I don’t
Luke Jones 15:55
think Mike, I don’t think Mike McCarthy is a bad coach, but I see them everything that was wrong with the Steelers under Mike Tomlin, meaning where they’ve been in recent years, where, let’s face it, when was the last time you actually truly thought the Pittsburgh Steelers were a bona fide, legitimate Super Bowl contender in the AFC when Ben Roethlisberger was two years away from retirement a decade ago? Yeah, we’re working on a decade ago and that and that, they haven’t
Nestor Aparicio 16:20
walked on. But this is a tribute to Tomlin. They haven’t walked on the field with a better team, really, than much, but they beat the Ravens ass a lot, and that that’s why hardball is unemployed.
Luke Jones 16:29
I understand that, and I don’t disagree with that, but, but the bigger problem there is ownership not recognizing that they need to take a step back if they ever want to take a step forward again. And that’s where that’s really hard to do. It’s where I kind of a billionaire. That’s where I think they’re going to run into the problem with Mike McCarthy. I think it’s much of the same of what they weren’t liking under Tomlin, not because Tomlin was the exclusively the problem, but they were just in this no man’s land. And I guess the other part of this would be, you know, there, there’s been a lot of talk about Shula, you know, the Rams defensive coordinator. And you know, there are a lot of people in Pittsburgh that, you know, we’re thinking that he would be a good fit. And obviously he’s Don, you know, ties to John Don Shula. And you know, you think back to the golden days of Pittsburgh, and you know, Shula and Chuck Knoll and, like, you think about all that kind of, all those connections. I think there was also a thought of, What was the rush to hire Mike McCarthy? Like, who else? Like, what other teams have been linked to? Mike McCarthy. The thought was, won’t you talk to some of these younger guys this week, you know, and in terms of the teams that are being eliminated, and see, see if there’s someone that you fall in love with. You know when you bring into the building and talk to so I don’t know. I mean, I to me, it just it feels like their ownership there is fine for them to continue to be where they’ve been. Why is
Nestor Aparicio 17:55
John perceived as being young at 63 and McCarthy perceived as being old? In some way? I just
Luke Jones 18:01
probably because he he’s perceived to have failed in Dallas. Also, again, I don’t think McCarthy is a bad coach. And the difference between John Harbaugh and New York and and Mike McCarthy and Pittsburgh right now is you have Jackson Dart you have some other good young players on that team, whereas most of what Pittsburgh has right now is old. Even their best players are old now that it’s not to say TJ watt and Cam Hayward can’t still play, but how much, how much do they realistically have left when, when you’re trying to converge on? Well, I
Nestor Aparicio 18:34
mean, look, we’ll figure it out on the field, right? Because Jesse Minter is going to coach against Mike McCarthy, and you’re judging the Steelers on what they are right now. And, yeah, I’m and we’re judging the Ravens on their potential, and they got their ass kicked. The ball sailed wide, right? They lost twice to the Steelers twice.
Luke Jones 18:52
I mean, I know why we need to say they got their ass kicked. I mean, well, they they got their coach fired. So, you know,
Nestor Aparicio 19:00
the Ravens have all of this potential and we’re going to bring it all in, I want to see that play out too. I want to see Lamar be a part of this. I want, you know, I want to see Jesse Minter get him to OTAs now all of a sudden, in a way that John couldn’t, and the owner called him out for last week.
Luke Jones 19:16
So I guess my overall point would be philosophically speaking, I would much rather be interested in hiring someone like Jesse mentor than Mike McCarthy at this point in time, if it were my franchise,
Nestor Aparicio 19:29
that’s all, no matter where your franchise was. Generally speaking, you’re a 42 year old billionaire. You’re different than a 78 year old billionaire. And I’m telling you, these decisions are made by billionaires in a lot of ways, in an egotistical way that serves them. Steve shotty doesn’t hire the best coach. He hires the coach he can get along with.
Luke Jones 19:52
Like that’s that’s a fact that said Dan Rooney hired Mike Tomlin. That wasn’t a you know, he certainly wasn’t Mike. McCarthy when you’re talking about 19 years ago. So it’s definitely a different hire than what Pittsburgh has done in the past. But, I mean, okay, we’ll see. I mean, and, you know, I don’t want to dwell too much on we got things to talk about,
Nestor Aparicio 20:12
but it’s all tied in, right? Because McCarthy’s on the phone now trying to get OCS and DCS in the same way that Minter is and, well, I mean, first things first, we have a Super Bowl with New England and Seattle. They’re going to move on. Their coaches are sort of kind of locked up, but by the middle of the week, you’ll find out, like, who’s waiting? If the Raiders are waiting on one of the coaches, we’ll find that out. But the Rams guys are now out in the marketplace as well, and and obviously the buffalo seat still becomes something that moves lots of people Cleveland and maybe by the time people hear this, I wouldn’t say driving around, because nobody’s driving any anywhere at this point with our snowstorm here this week, but by the time we get to Thursday, I think we’ll have a whole lot more clarity on a lot of things. But it has been pretty murky. I would say, right, yeah,
Luke Jones 20:57
there’s no question about it. I mean, I do want to give an update that we do have where we had talked about this last week, but Chris Horton, who the Ravens had initially blocked, and as I said, you know, I kind of compare it to, you’re keeping someone on retainer, right? He was under contract. The idea is, do you want to have him potentially be the special teams coordinator for a new head coach coming in here at that point in time, not knowing definitively who it was going to be. And ultimately, the Ravens have apparently decided to say, Chris Horton, you can go and Jesse Minter and the organization has someone else in mind. I don’t necessarily think that means that Anthony Levine is getting the job as a special teams assistant on the staff this past year. But Jesse Minter might have someone else in mind, so Chris Horton will join John Harbaugh in New York and the other but the
Nestor Aparicio 21:46
interesting thing is, Jesse Minter does know, you know, all of these people like if he really liked, you know, our friend long Anthony Levine, longtime specialty, you know, this is the opportunity to do that? If he really liked Zach or right? He could keep you know what? I mean, like, there’s a lot of relationship. This isn’t sure. This isn’t, this is just a little bit of a transfusion. This isn’t a transplant.
Luke Jones 22:11
Well, yeah. I mean, I, as I wrote at Baltimore positive.com, this is much more of a refresh of their building than a rebuild. That said Jesse Minter is his own man. He’s been gone for five years, so I think he’s coming in with a perspective of, yes, there’s familiarity, but I think there’s also some What does need to change here? And that’s not to say that that’s an indictment on Chris Horton, per se. It might just be, hey, he he knows someone from that that he worked with at Michigan, or a friend of a friend that he thinks is a fantastic special teams coach and thinks he would be a good fit. So you know someone he brought in with reports late Sunday evening, Mike Mickens, who was coaching the defensive backs at Notre Dame, as familiar with Kyle Hamilton, obviously, but Mickens played at Cincinnati when Jesse Minter was a grad assistant there. So there’s a connection there. But Mickens is really highly regarded in terms of some of the work he’s done at not just in South Bend, but other stops. He’s known for being someone that can be, you know, really coaches defensive backs well. And I think you’re looking right now at Malachi Starks, and you’re looking at Nate Wiggins, two young, developing defensive backs who you know, in Wiggins case, you know, didn’t necessarily finish the season on the highest note. In Starks, his case, didn’t necessarily have an unbelievable rookie year. I don’t think he had a bad rookie year, but he’s a rookie, but they need to improve. And that’s coaching, as you see, right? And that’s someone that clearly Minter looks at Mickens and the work he did at Notre Dame and those two having some previous ties, and say, Hey, this is a chance for us to bring in one of the most highly regarded college assistants to come in here and coach our secondary and get us to a place where we need to be, which is way better with the past defense than the Ravens have been the last couple years. So you know, right off the bat that that’s looks like a good hire to me. He’s highly regarded. Clearly knows Kyle Hamilton. I’m I’m sure Jesse Minter, or someone in the organization at least, picked Kyle Hamilton’s brain a little bit on what he thought of him, and they bring them in, I mean, again. And I even saw a couple Notre Dame reporters on social media kind of saying, this is a matter of time that Mickens is going to be promoted somewhere, right? That he was going to be, whether it was going to be going to another college, you know, with a better job, or making it to the NFL. So, but that’s just an example of someone they’re
Nestor Aparicio 24:40
bringing now, didn’t cross paths with Hamilton, though, right that he left a year and a half before he got here, yep, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I’m just trying to get the ties. There are a lot of players left from that. There aren’t Ronnie Stanley Marlon, nine.
Luke Jones 24:55
I think it was okay. I included it in what I wrote on Friday at Baltimore positive. Dot com, I think it was nine. Let me bring it up and but
Nestor Aparicio 25:03
it’s, it’s a short list. Brent urban was probably around. He was always around.
Luke Jones 25:07
No, Brent urban, that’s when he that was in the middle of his So, but yeah, I mean, it’s, it’s, I
Nestor Aparicio 25:14
love Brent urban. I miss him. You see Brent L I said, hello. I haven’t seen him in years. But Canadian guys,
Luke Jones 25:20
you know, it goes back to what we were talking about. Like, yes, there’s familiarity here, but there’s enough of a, you know, departure. There was enough of a stint of mentor being away from John harmal Harbaugh and the Ravens specifically. And okay, out here he was with Jim. I fully acknowledge that, but I think there still is enough of a difference there. And as I pointed out to you, just because you work for someone does not mean that you’re exactly the same as them. And I used you and you and me as an example there, right? I mean, that’s that’s just life. But I think when, when you do look at the time that’s passed, the fact that there are only eight or nine guys left from 2020 I mean, Jesse Minter knows Lamar Jackson, but even then, think about where Lamar Jackson was in his career in 2018 1920 and where Jesse Minter was in his coaching career in 2018 1920 and that’s not to say that those two won’t have a great relationship, but it’s certainly going To be a different relationship than it was then, right?
Nestor Aparicio 26:23
I mean, do we have any hint that Lamar came in and talked to these guys last week or No, I
Luke Jones 26:27
don’t know. I I don’t get the scent, and I don’t, I don’t know this for sure. I don’t get the sense that he was there physically. Now that said, there’s been reporting and things that I have heard as well, that if, whether we’re talking about Lamar, Kyle Hamilton, you know, like a roquan Smith, like guys that you would Leadership Council. Yeah, I think there was some guys, some element of guys, chiming in, like, you know, via zoom, like, saying hello, maybe asking a question or two in that way, but, but I don’t think, like, if you’re asking me, you know. And you know, and this goes back to what bashati was talking about at the press conference. I didn’t get the sense that Lamar flew in the Baltimore and was sitting down for 12 hours at a time part of the interview team in that way. I don’t think that happened. I don’t know 100% but I feel like if that had been the case, were the Ravens would have made that known. I feel right. Don’t you think I mean that that feels like something they would have done in the same way that pagula and Buffalo has has not shied away from the fact that it sounds like Josh Allen’s going to be very involved in their coaching.
Nestor Aparicio 27:32
Well, once this thing’s over with this press conference on Thursday and Friday, then we have a Super Bowl, and we’ll Shovel more snow this weekend, apparently, and all that. But then it really big, and the coordinators be in place, and, you know, Cleveland even have a coach by then,
Nestor Aparicio 27:48
the Lamar contract thing that sits in the center of like, does he want to be here? Is he happy here? Is he renegotiating? We’re going to get this done quickly. It’s just money. He’s got plenty of it. They’ve got plenty of it, can they get it done? Is that something where Eric’s going to go to the combine and just have that done? Or is it going to be one more thing he has to deal with in March and April, slogging along to figure all of that out? Because once you get to march 12, or whatever that date is, when free agency hits, not that far away. You’d like to think that the quarterback that’s been in the system that you paid a quarter of a billion dollars to who has won MVPs, who allegedly wants to win and wants to be here but doesn’t come to OTAs and doesn’t answer his phone in the offseason for the old coach, I don’t I Lamar is a mystery, and it shouldn’t be that way. It doesn’t feel like Josh Allen’s a mystery to me in Buffalo. It just feels like Lamar is a mystery. And I don’t know, sudden knock on him. Everybody thinks I don’t like Lamar. I, you know, I don’t walk like a duck. I, you know, people walk a little differently. Think a little differently. Even Aaron Rodgers, he thinks like, you know, all these quarterbacks have their own thing, but the Lamar thing, I’d like to see the oars in the water and feel like they’re moving the same way. And I don’t know that I’ve ever felt that with him and John from holding the sign up, getting the money. He’s great on the field. They’ve executed all that, but the big trust and the brotherhood and all of that, I called it culture when I wrote a letter to Steve bishati, and that was really more off the field than even on the field, but bringing Lamar back in and having this thing be fun for everybody again, it feels like it’s been a minute for that.
Luke Jones 29:33
Yeah. I mean, we talked about it, and this was part of the reason why they moved on from John. I think everyone
Nestor Aparicio 29:40
the quarterback got the coach fired, so
Luke Jones 29:41
now he needs to be happy. I don’t. I wouldn’t categorize it like that.
Nestor Aparicio 29:48
I think quarterback survived and the coach didn’t.
Luke Jones 29:51
Okay, okay, that. I think that’s a much. I think
Nestor Aparicio 29:54
the coaches have way happier in New York than he would be here. I think the coach was
Luke Jones 29:58
also make he’s also making 20. Email. I think, yeah, I agree, no, but I think, I think the problem was everyone was worn out. I think fatigue is the word that I use to kind of describe that. But to go back to what you’re talking about with Lamar, yeah, I mean, I think you certainly want to get that done before the start of free agency, but because it’s going to be very pivotal in what they can do in terms of going out and adding other football players. I mean, it’s just the truth. I mean, yes, I’ve talked, I’ve talked about it in terms of, yes, there are ways that the Ravens can take Lamar $74 million cap figure. It’s, you know, the space salary itself is 50 something, whatever it is. Off the top of my head, I don’t have it in front of me. There are ways to do a simple restructure. And you can push out a couple more void years, and you can lower that number, but not in the way that you can if you can work out an extension. And you basically tack three more years onto the current deal, and you make Lamar the highest paid quarterback in the league, again, in terms of average annual value. You structure it in a way that his cap number is much lower for 26 and 27 and then you move forward, yeah, you get this all done in three and a half minutes. It should be. You ought to be able to get on a zoom call and within three hours say, Yay, nay, whatever we’re saying. But I mean, even if it’s not three hours, point it your points well taken like it shouldn’t be something that takes weeks and weeks, like it’s something, dude, it’s
Nestor Aparicio 31:22
January 26 if we’re still talking about this, after Valentine’s Day, they haven’t figured it out, because, like, they should be getting this figured out, and they all know it. You’re talking about it. I’m talking about it. Lamar knows about it. If you care about winning, and you’re into this thing and you’re into the new coach, come in and get it done. That’s all.
Luke Jones 31:40
I wouldn’t say Valentine’s Day, because they do have to put a staff together, and Eric is still going to be involved in that, right? I mean, even if Jesse Minter is driving that,
Nestor Aparicio 31:49
Eric already knows the structure of all of this. Send it over to his, Oh, he didn’t have an agent. Send it over to him. And let’s, hey, Lamar, get back. Let’s, let’s get this done.
Luke Jones 31:57
So with your general point, I’m just saying to me by the Combine would be, you know, if we’re still talking about this in a month, yeah, then at that point, you’re starting to because you’re looking
Nestor Aparicio 32:08
the last head coach couldn’t get him into, couldn’t, had to make excuses for him in front of you to embarrass himself, like over the course of this past season. In regard to, is he practicing? Is he not? I mean, are we communicating? Are we not? Is he coming to OTA? Is he not? I’ll text Nestor because Nestor is on Twitter talking about him not like the new coach shouldn’t have to. It should be better than that. That’s I. I hope it’s better than that. I hope that the new coach doesn’t reach for his phone and want to text Jameson Hensley or Jeff sribank saying the quarterback’s not in my building and I’m trying to win, and it’s pissing me off. Okay?
Luke Jones 32:44
Because that really happened. I’m making that up, like it really happened in the spring. In the spring, okay?
Nestor Aparicio 32:50
Spring’s part of the year when we win that. And that’s me being a serious Ball Coach, not a sports radio prick, like that’s,
Luke Jones 32:58
that’s the way. And he wasn’t there two years ago in the spring, and he wanted but should have won MVP of the league. I hear you, and look, I wasn’t making it any
Nestor Aparicio 33:06
easier on that Tuesday when you’re out there leading your football team and your leaders not in the building, and everybody’s saying, why? And it pisses you off because you’re like, Come on, dude, we pay you
Luke Jones 33:16
$50 million you love you complaining
Nestor Aparicio 33:19
about dude. Chad steel threw me out, took my press pass away, and told me it’s because I didn’t come to OTAs. And that’s a fact, Jack, that’s a fact.
Luke Jones 33:26
So I wasn’t I had what I was saying had nothing to do with that. I’m talking about Lamar Jackson here this spring. Yeah, it’s gonna be a little different. The expectation should be different, because you’re gonna be talking about a new offense coordinator and a new offense and a new head coach, and yeah, I’ll be in agreement with that. We’re going to find out, right? And that’s why they need to get this offensive coordinator higher, correct. You know whether it’s going to be Cliff Kingsbury, because there’s been some chatter and rumors and reporting that Lamar would be interested in working with him, I don’t think it’s necessarily Kingsbury or bust. But you know, is it him? Is it going to be Joe Brady? I mean, Davis, Webb, Nathan shieldhouse. I mean, some of these guys now that are now done, you can talk to, right? I mean, you’re now in a position where you know anyone that’s, uh, not New England or Seattle, you’re in a position where you can bring them in and hire them. So we’re going to see how it, how it plays out. But yeah, I mean, they’ve you’d like to think you get a contract extension done and without too much drama, as I made the point to you probably a week or two ago, when you have a contract in place, this is not starting from scratch. When you have a contract in place and you want to extend that contract, it’s not nearly as challenging as when you’re starting from scratch in the way that they were three years ago, with a negotiation where it was expiring rookie deal and you need to work out a contract extent, or
Nestor Aparicio 34:51
Shawne said he’s under contract, so he’s gonna come play for 7 million. And if we have to take the cap, it will take it, but it would be far better to know that on February 15 and. Not, right.
Luke Jones 35:00
He’s not going to play under the 74.5 it would be, you’re going to take x, x amount from his base salary for 2026 and you turn that into a bonus, and you probably lower it to, I don’t know, 55 something like that. 60, which would be tenable, but not as much flexibility as if you work out a brand, an extension that can lower that number down to, I don’t know, 2530 something like that, for this year, and it all depends. I mean, I think with any of these big quarterback contracts, you also have to remember, you want to try to keep the structure as flat as you can, because of this scenario where you get three years into it and the numbers are sky high, and then you say, Okay, we need to get another extension done. I mean, I’m there’s no question that Eric dicostia said to Lamar when they signed this deal three years ago that we’ll have to work out. We’ll have to redo this in three years. So goes back to your original point. You know, if everything’s Kumbaya and and he’s happy, and they’re happy, and he likes he’s excited about Jesse Minter. He’s excited about the offensive coordinator they hire, then it shouldn’t be something that takes more than, I don’t want to say, three hours, but shouldn’t be something that takes six weeks. Let’s put it that way, right? Well, if you’re
Nestor Aparicio 36:15
genuinely excited about being here, and you’re genuinely excited about the new head coach, and you’re genuine, you’d be at the press conference Thursday here. I know snow not withstanding, but he can get a jet. He makes 50 million a year, you know. And like, let’s go. Let’s look like this is a new program, that it’s not camp John, Camp dread, you know, Camp Ball Coach, you know, show me something different. Show me this off season where everybody’s pissed off for greatness at eight and nine, and new this, and new beginnings, that, new coordinator that, and new playbook and new, not new system. I don’t, I don’t know if Kingsbury comes in here. We’re not going to run Todd Monken system. Is he
Luke Jones 36:54
that’s gonna, I mean, it’s gonna be different. I mean, it’s, you know, even though you look at similarities, I mean, yeah, it’s gonna be a different system. I mean, it’s, it’s, that’s why i That’s why, for the first time in a few years, yeah, I will care about Lamar being there on this.
Nestor Aparicio 37:07
Well, that means a lot more work for Lamar. If there’s a new system, right, new language
Luke Jones 37:11
for any quarterback. I mean, it’s gonna be, it’s gonna be new for short of the bills just promoting Joe Brady, it’s gonna be new for Josh Allen, right? I mean, it’s gonna be new for any, any, any, anyone who has a new head coach or coordinator, right? I mean, so yeah, there’s a lot of that that goes on, and yeah, it’s gonna be important, and we’re gonna see how this all plays out. And they need to get a staff in place, and then as soon as, as soon as that’s mostly complete, yeah, they’ve got to get this, gotta get this deal done. Well, we got the press conference Thursday.
Nestor Aparicio 37:40
Why don’t we take a break? We’ll come back. We’ll talk about me. Back. We’ll talk about Minter. We’ll talk about questions for him, and what you’re I want to know what you’re interested in. What if you get an hour with what are you going to ask him about? I’m putting that together in my mind. Through the snowstorm, everybody out there stay safe. He’s Luke. I’m Nestor. We’re gonna be doing a cup of soup or bowl next week, weather pending, with our friends from the Maryland lottery as well as GBMC. If there’s any breaking news on coordinators, if you’re on the wnst tech service, you’ll get that first. It’s all brought to you by Cole roofing and Gordian energy. Luke and I talking some football. And if you are tuning in and you are in the car, or you’re listening on the Listen Live at Baltimore positive through wnst, we’re going to be presenting the 25th anniversary of Purple Rain one and the big night in Tampa, which was January 28 2001 25 years. Wow. Where did time go? But if you tune in and you hear Tony Sarah goosey, you hear art modell, or you hear Brian Billick, or you hear Marvin Lewis, or you hear Trent Dilfer, or you hear rod Woodson, yeah, it’s because we got it laying around. We’re Baltimore positive. Stay with us.
