INDIANAPOLIS — Ravens coach John Harbaugh is staying focused on the bright side.
Yes, he had four assistants leave for other jobs, but that’s a good thing. He’s excited for their opportunities, and he’s excited for the chance to get new coaches in the room.
“That’s all good stuff,” Harbaugh said Tuesday at the NFL combine. “It’s not something you sit back and get mad and say, ‘Man how are gonna replace this guy or that guy?’ Sixteen years we’ve had that same refrain after every single season. To me, it’s a positive thing. The guys coming in are going to be amazing.”
The Ravens announced four hires Monday. They hired Mark DeLeone to replace inside linebackers coach Zach Orr, who was promoted to defensive coordinator after Mike Macdonald’s departure for Seattle. Dennis Johnson replaced Anthony Weaver as the defensive line coach, and Doug Mallory replaced Dennard Wilson as the defensive backs coach. They also hired Travelle Wharton as an assistant offensive line coach, replacing Mike Devlin.
DeLeone has a prior relationship with linebacker Roquan Smith, who has been a key to the Ravens’ success, from their two seasons together in Chicago. Harbaugh mentioned DeLeone’s relationships with players, especially with Smith, as something that stood out, along with DeLeone’s understanding of the game.
“When you start listening to him talk ball, he just blew me away with his knowledge,” Harbaugh said.
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Meanwhile, Johnson was notable to Harbaugh because of his “energy and his fire, his attention to detail.” Those were similar compliments Harbaugh gave Weaver, who Harbaugh said “lights up a room” and develops players.
In Mallory, Harbaugh is convinced Baltimore got “one of the greatest secondary coaches in the world right now.” Mallory, who coached with Harbaugh’s brother Jim at Michigan, worked in a very similar system as the Ravens, he said.
Orr, who worked with Macdonald for two years, will “provide continuity,” Harbaugh said, and will not change the defense’s structure. That means Mallory will be walking into a familiar situation.
The Ravens saw fewer departures on the offensive staff. Harbaugh said Wharton will fit in as a guy who has relationships with former Ravens offensive line coach Juan Castillo and John Matsko, Harbaugh’s first offensive line coach.
Coaching changes happen every year, although Harbaugh said they get harder as you get older.
“When you’re young, you’re 35, you kind of know who all the 35-year-old coaches are,” Harbaugh said. “Now you get to be 60s, 70s, you probably know who the 60- and 70-year-old coaches are, but you don’t know the 35-year-old coaches as much.”
The names the Ravens lost this year are significant, many credited for helping players take huge leaps this season, but that’s just part of the turnover in football, Harbaugh said. And he expects the Ravens will continue to have to revamp their coaching staff with every year that goes by.
“If it goes well ... guys get an opportunity to go somewhere else and chase their careers, players move on and sign bigger contracts or they get a new contract with you,” Harbaugh said.
It’s a challenge, but it’s also a compliment. Harbaugh learned that from recently retired Alabama coach Nick Saban, one of the winningest coaches in college football history, who has an extensive coaching tree in the sport.
“One of the things he talked about was all the coaching change he had over the last 10 years because of their success,” Harbaugh said. “Coaches would come there, be there year or two then go get a head coaching job. ... So he had to train those guys every single year. That does become a big challenge of success. Nobody had it at a higher level than him.”
