A week after saying he would be keeping his coaching staff intact despite a 5-11 season, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh made changes to his defensive group headlined by the hiring of former NFL head coach Leslie Frazier.
A source confirmed Friday night that the former head man of the Minnesota Vikings will coach the Baltimore secondary. The 56-year-old Frazier had served as the defensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the last two seasons and coached with Harbaugh for four years on Andy Reid’s staff in Philadelphia from 1999-2002.
The Ravens finished 10th in the NFL in pass defense this past season, but the secondary struggled mightily in the first half of the season as defensive backs were frequently out of position and played with poor technique. This will mark the fourth different secondary coach for the Ravens in four years.
Frazier also served as a defensive coach in Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Minnesota. Following the dismissal of Vikings head coach Brad Childress late in the 2010 season, Frazier was promoted from defensive coordinator to interim coach and was hired permanently, serving as the head coach from 2011-2013. He guided Minnesota to the playoffs in 2012, which marked the single-biggest turnaround in franchise history.
The Cleveland Browns had reportedly been interested in Frazier as their defensive coordinator before he agreed to join the Ravens.
Defensive backs coach Chris Hewitt will now assist Frazier in the secondary while cornerbacks coach Matt Weiss will now assist Don Martindale with coaching the linebackers. Linebackers coach Ted Monachino departed last week to become the new defensive coordinator in Indianapolis.
With longtime defensive line coach Clarence Brooks continuing to fight esophageal cancer and expected to undergo surgery this offseason, the Ravens will ease his workload as he will become a senior defensive assistant and former Tampa Bay defensive line coach Joe Cullen will join Baltimore under Brooks’ previous title.
Previously an assistant for Cleveland (2013), Jacksonville (2010-2012), and Detroit (2006-2008), Cullen had spent the last two seasons with the Buccaneers and was believed to be a candidate to become their defensive coordinator before new head coach Dirk Koetter hired Mike Smith on Friday.
While most position coaches work in relative anonymity, Cullen became infamous in 2006 for a pair of alcohol-related incidents, which included an arrest for driving under the influence and another for driving naked through a Wendy’s drive-through. He was fined $20,000 and suspended for one game by the NFL for detrimental conduct in addition to being sentenced by a judge to probation, community service, and required attendance at Alcoholic Anonymous meetings.
Cullen has apparently stayed out of trouble since then and has even used his own experiences to try to help troubled players.
Ravens hire former NFL head coach Frazier, shake up defensive staff
Luke Jones
Luke Jones is the Ravens and Orioles beat reporter for WNST BaltimorePositive.com and is a PFWA member. His mind is consumed with useless sports knowledge, pro wrestling promos, and movie quotes, but he often forgets where he put his phone. Luke's favorite sports memories include being one of the thousands of kids who waited for Cal Ripken's autograph after Orioles games in the summer of 1995, attending the Super Bowl XXXV victory parade with his dad in the pouring rain, and watching the Terps advance to the Final Four at the Carrier Dome in 2002. Follow him on social media @BaltimoreLuke or email him at Luke@wnst.net.
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