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The contract has been signed, the stress of figuring out where he’d land is over. But Jesse Minter does not have time to let out a breath of relief.

As the new head coach of the Ravens, Minter is inheriting a franchise with expectations of success. With a talented roster, those expectations also come with a quick deadline.

There’s lots to do to get this team back where it needs to be. As he and his family deal with the craziness that accompanies any cross-country move, here are his football priorities.

Hire a staff

Although Minter may be a good hire for the Ravens, a huge factor in his success will be who he chooses as offensive coordinator.

Who Jesse Minter could hire as his coordinators

Beyond the coordinators, Minter needs to get moving on filling out his staff. The Ravens aren’t the farthest behind — other teams are still searching for their head coaches — but the big hiring and firing period is often from the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, this week to the Super Bowl in the first week of February. They’re also competing with teams who have a head coach but are filling vacancies left by assistants who were promoted or fired.

Minter needs to figure out if there’s anyone he wants to retain from John Harbaugh’s staff so the Ravens can set others with contracts free to join the hiring cycle. Minter also needs to see who he can bring along from previous jobs and meet with anyone new he wants to hire.

Connect with Lamar Jackson

The two-time MVP quarterback is the most critical component to on-the-field success. He’s also crucial to the financial state of the team.

The Ravens gave Jackson the biggest contract in history in 2023, and now they have to face the consequences. His salary cap hit is about to jump to $74.5 million. Although there are accounting mechanisms for the Ravens to reduce that number, they’d prefer to do it through a contract extension.

Owner Steve Bisciotti said he told Jackson he wants it done by the beginning of the free agency period in March.

Goon: Lamar Jackson needs to take the reins

General manager Eric DeCosta will negotiate the deal, but Minter has to convince Jackson to buy in to a partnership between the two.

Jackson should also have say in who the offensive coordinator is, so this goes hand in hand with Minter’s first and most urgent step.

Jackson does things his own way, so laying the groundwork for communication and understanding needs to start as soon as possible.

Meet the locker room

This is what distinguishes a coordinator from a head coach — can you bring all aspects of the team together?

Bisciotti tried to debunk them, but there were rumors Harbaugh lost the locker room and his message became stale.

Through the season, players were often absent from the open locker room while the media was there — a contrast from years past. Notably, Jackson had all the games that created a fun atmosphere removed amid the team’s early losing streak. Although players say they got along and played hard for each other, things weren’t clicking on the field and there were fewer obvious leaders than in years past. A critical one, center Tyler Linderbaum, is a pending free agent.

Minter needs to get a feel for who can help fix things. Although he may not get anyone in a room together for some time, he’ll need to see who fits what he wants to build and get an idea of what players need from him.

Leaders such as Jackson, Linderbaum, tight end Mark Andrews, left tackle Ronnie Stanley, inside linebacker Roquan Smith and safety Kyle Hamilton, among others, should top the list. If Minter can get buy-in from the loudest locker room voices, his message will take root faster.

Decide who Jesse Minter, head coach, is

Minter has proven himself as a defensive coordinator. Players love him, as evidenced by the outpouring of support on social media following Baltimore’s decision to hire him.

But now he’s in charge of the entire team, from the coordinators down to the kicker. Unless you count one day at Michigan, he’s never been a head coach.

What does a Minter-led team look like?

This is his first chance to establish that.

Minter has coached under the Harbaugh brothers for eight of the last nine seasons. He’s probably learned a lot from each.

But he can’t lean on only those lessons. There’s a reason the Ravens moved on from Harbaugh, so Minter needs to bring something different.

Figure out Nnamdi Madubuike’s situation

As of Jan. 13, the team didn’t have an update on the star defensive lineman’s status. Madubuike suffered a season-ending neck injury in Week 2, and it’s unclear if he’ll be back or if it will turn into a career-ending injury.

What was clear was the impact of his loss. Madubuike is a two-time Pro Bowler, and without him drawing attention from opponents, the pass rush suffered.

Minter will need to know if he’s getting Madubuike back from a team-building perspective. Should the Ravens sign a pass rusher? Should they take another swing in the draft?

The team also needs to know Madubuike’s next move from a salary cap perspective, because his cap hit in 2026 is $30.975 million, or 10.18% of the cap.

Decide whom to keep

Once Minter gets to know the players from a personal standpoint and through their film, he has decisions to make along with DeCosta.

There’s a long list of free agents, which includes critical players, namely Linderbaum. The Ravens locked up a few — Andrews, defensive linemen Travis Jones and John Jenkins — toward the end of the season, but they haven’t worked anything out with their Pro Bowl center.

Linderbaum is an anchor between two guards who struggled during the season. Along with Stanley, he is a veteran presence. The Ravens let multiple veteran free agents walk in the past few seasons, which led to trouble this year.

The Ravens also have to decide on outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy, who was the lead pass rusher in 2024 but took a big step back in 2025; Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard, who dealt with injury through the first half of the season but is an important piece in the run game; punter Jordan Stout, who was named a Pro Bowler and played a huge role in the battle for field position in a few of the Ravens’ wins; and tight ends Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar.

Decisions also need to be made on players still under contract, including cornerback Marlon Humphrey. Like Van Noy, Humphrey had an impressive 2024 season but lost a step in 2025. His cap hit jumps to $26.276 million in 2026, and then he has $11.939 million in dead money spread across three void years. The Ravens could cut Humphrey, or other players on the back end of their contracts, to create salary and roster space.

Create a free-agent wish list

Contract negotiations for unrestricted free agents begin March 9. Minter should have a better idea of where the team stands before then.

If he is given similar responsibilities to Harbaugh, he’ll get a chance to share his opinion on where he’d like to build the roster by adding a proven free agent.

The pass rush immediately comes to mind, because the Ravens have yet to hit through the draft and need immediate contributions. The offensive line is another area to watch.

The Ravens have a window, whether they want to admit it or not, as Jackson gets older. Free agents would help the team more immediately than draft picks, although they will cost more. And this is (currently) a cash-strapped team.

Prepare for the draft

Likewise, Minter will get an opinion on where the Ravens should build from the ground up.

DeCosta gave Harbaugh players to watch film on, so Minter will be able to share his breakdown of prospects.

In Los Angeles, Minter got a lot out of Day 2 and Day 3 picks, so he may fit the Ravens’ past strategy of building through the draft. However, it takes longer for draft picks to contribute. As the Ravens saw this year, they had some good rookies, but playing so many of them makes it hard for the team to jell.

Get to know the fans

Minter is familiar with Baltimore because he spent time on Harbaugh’s staff in the last decade.

But returning as head coach is a different thing. It’s too early for his name and face to have such weight, but Harbaugh was one of the most recognizable faces of Baltimore. Although Jackson is probably more famous, after 18 years, Harbaugh was more representative of the city.

The Ravens pride themselves on community involvement. Players and team personnel were seen helping around the city, although Harbaugh was not as present.

This city is also foaming at the mouth for a Super Bowl. Expectations are high, and the responsibility is heavy. Bisciotti joked he’ll give the newest coach six years to win after Harbaugh took five. But Minter could perhaps buy the fans’ patience if they feel they connect with him.