One-half of the new era of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ rivalry with the Baltimore Ravens is set, as this year’s runners-up in the AFC North hired their new head coach, Jesse Minter, on Thursday.
While the Steelers’ front office is still coming to a decision on the next head coach in Pittsburgh, fans of the black and gold already have an idea of what the next head coach is up against with Minter in Baltimore.
The defensive standard in Baltimore has been high since the franchise’s inception, but the 2025 unit didn’t reflect that. With Minter leading the charge now, Steelers fans have to brace for the worst in the coming years.
A familiar Ravens defensive identity is coming back with Jesse Minter in Baltimore to challenge the Pittsburgh Steelers
For the past two seasons, John Harbaugh employed former Ravens linebacker Zach Orr as his defensive coordinator. He had mixed results in Year 1, sporting the league’s best rushing defense, but 31st-ranked pass defense, even while ranking second in sacks. Still, the Ravens were strong on conversion downs and in the red zone.
That all changed this season, as Orr’s defense struggled to finish in the top half of the league in most categories. They still ranked sixth in redzone efficiency, but otherwise only came in the top half of the league in turnovers (15th), rushing yards allowed (10th), passing touchdowns allowed (10th), and third-down stops (11th).
It doesn’t matter which category you look at, Minter’s defense in Los Angeles outpaced Baltimore’s in every way. That’s in large part because Minter’s Chargers defense ranked in the top 10 nearly across the board.
Minter’s defense is similar to that of Mike Macdonald, the former Ravens defensive coordinator now orchestrating the Seattle Seahawks’ Super Bowl LX push. Orr carried the same scheme forward the past two seasons with his own spin on it, but obviously it didn’t work as well as he’d hoped.
Overall, that means Pittsburgh won’t see too much change in how the Ravens’ defense operates. It’ll still be a 3-4 base that primarily operates out of nickel, with Kyle Hamilton likely playing close to the line of scrimmage.
Minter will utilize disguised coverages, overwhelmingly through zone coverage with split safeties high. Minter called for zone coverage on 80.7% of the Chargers’ snaps this season, the fifth-highest rate in the league.
Minter’s defense creates a ton of pressure without blitzing, too, just like MacDonald's. L.A. finished with the seventh-most sacks in the NFL this season despite blitzing less than 20% of the time, one of the lowest percentages in the league alongside Seattle’s.
Steelers fans aren’t unfamiliar with Minter, even if this offseason is the first time they’ve heard his name. Minter worked with Macdonald in Baltimore from 2017-2020, and during that time, the Ravens consistently carried a top-6 scoring defense.
The Steelers had gotten something of a breather for the two years that Orr commanded the defense in Baltimore, but it seems those days are likely over. The Ravens defense, with Minter at the helm, is set to return to form.
Of course, Baltimore still has more work to do themselves to make sure the personnel is in place for Minter to hit the ground running. But clearly, Steelers fans should be braced to see the Ravens continue to stay near the top of the AFC North with eyes on the postseason now that Minter is running the show in Baltimore.