Jesse Minter hasn’t coached a single regular-season game in Baltimore yet, but he’s already getting some high praise. It’s not easy for a first-time head coach to take over a team that was led by John Harbaugh for 18 seasons. However, given how the Baltimore Ravens have shaped up this offseason, a veteran voice is letting his expectations soar.

“Expectations are high,” Kyle Van Noy said on First Things First. “I mean, they’re at the highest of heights. You don’t just make a change like that. You don’t just move off for Harbaugh just because. Obviously, Mr. Bisciotti felt like a change needed to happen. He did that by going to get Jesse Minter. Jesse Minter is from the tree of Mike McDonald. So they’re trying to get that back to that defensive prowess they’ve always had. They’re trying to bring back the bullies of Baltimore.”

The Ravens are being talked about as one of the top teams to win the AFC North, and the numbers back that up. BetMGM has Baltimore at +1100 to win the Super Bowl, +500 for the AFC Championship, -118 to win the AFC North, and -375 to make the playoffs.

Minter’s defensive background is a big advantage for a side that has some really promising players. Guys like Kyle Hamilton, Roquan Smith, and Travis Jones were already good, and Trey Hendrickson is in the mix, too. According to an analysis by Warren Sharp, the Ravens have the second-most expensive defense this year, worth $187.4 million.

Minter doesn’t walk into this blind either; he had two years of experience as a defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers from 2024 to 2025 before his hiring as the Ravens’ head coach in 2026. Clearly, he’s stepping into a roster that already has real expectations attached to it.

The Ravens have one of the easiest pathways to advance to the postseason, as they don’t face a team that was in the playoffs last year until November 1. For that reason, ESPN’s Field Yates claimed that Baltimore will be the “last undefeated team.”

However, the postseason is where Minter will face his first true test. He will have the help of star players like Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, Zay Flowers, and others, which is more than enough firepower to advance further in the playoffs. And with how the defense has come about, CBS Sports deemed that there is “hardly an excuse” for Jesse Minter to fail this year.