Ravens beat Steelers to the punch by hiring popular HC candidate Jesse Minter

The NFL coaching carousel is still in full swing, with a whopping 10 head coaches needing to be replaced this year. The AFC North houses three of those openings, with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, and Baltimore Ravens all looking for new team leaders. Well, it was three, but the Ravens just took themselves (and one of the top candidates) off the board.

Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter has been chosen to replace John Harbaugh in Baltimore.

It's a hire many saw coming as soon as Harbaugh was shown the door, and for good reason. Minter not only coached under Harbaugh from 2017 to 2020, but he has spent the last four seasons coaching under his brother Jim Harbaugh at both Michigan and the Chargers. While familiarity with the organization played a huge part, Minter is also an excellent defensive mind who transformed the Chargers' defense as soon as he arrived in L.A.

With the Steelers also showing interest in him, it takes another option off the board for them as they attempt to replace Mike Tomlin.

The Pittsburgh Steelers lost another strong HC option after Ravens hire Chargers DC Jesse Minter

While Minter was never considered one of the leaders for the Steelers' HC position, losing another quality candidate still hurts them in multiple ways. As the HC openings continue to be filled across the league, candidates will begin to narrow their focus and make decisions more quickly, knowing their window of opportunity may be closing.

The good news for Pittsburgh is that several of the best remaining options, like Rams DC Chris Shula and Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, are still focusing their attention on their upcoming playoff games. They can't interview anywhere in person until after the NFL Championship games are completed.

That should delay candidates from playoff teams from making decisions for a bit, creating a sort of buffer period. Things could escalate quickly, however, especially if other teams start to get desperate.

The Browns have already seen multiple coaches turn down interviews with them this week, and teams like the Cardinals and Raiders have their own issues that they must work around to convince candidates to join them.

The team that the Steelers most have to worry about, however, is the Buffalo Bills. Now that they have entered the fold after firing Sean McDermott, they could easily poach one of Pittsburgh's preferred candidates. So far, they seem focused on options outside of the Steelers' top options, but that could change quickly following Championship weekend.