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Ravens DC Mike Macdonald, OC Todd Monken, DL coach Anthony Weaver reportedly set to interview for head coaching jobs

brian wacker, baltimore sun
·5 min read

And so it begins for the Ravens and their assistant coaches.

On Monday, the Washington Commanders fired coach Ron Rivera after four seasons in which he failed to produce a winning record. He was already on the clock when the team was sold in July, and it ran out a day after the Commanders were blown out, 38-10, by the Dallas Cowboys in their regular-season finale on Sunday.

Among potential candidates to replace him: Baltimore defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald and associate head coach/defensive line coach Anthony Weaver, both of whom Washington has requested to interview, according to multiple reports.

After the Ravens finished 13-4 and as the AFC’s top seed as well as becoming the first team in NFL history to lead the league in sacks (60), takeaways (31) and points allowed per game (16.5) this season, several Baltimore assistants are expected to draw interest from other teams. That includes on offense, as the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Chargers have reportedly sought permission to interview coordinator Todd Monken for their respective head coaching openings.

The Panthers, who are also looking for a new general manager after firing Scott Fitterer on Monday, will also interview Ravens vice president of football administration Nick Matteo for the vacancy. Matteo is in his fourth season in Baltimore and oversees all areas of football administration, including day-to-day salary cap management and roster transactions.

Under Monken, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has emerged as the favorite to win his second NFL Most Valuable Player award after throwing for 3,678 yards, 24 touchdowns and completing a career-high 67.2% of his passes while also rushing for 821 yards and five more scores.

While no in-person interviews with a coach currently working for another team can be held until after the divisional round of the playoffs, Macdonald, Weaver and Monken can have virtual interviews with their respective suitors.

Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, as well as Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris are among other candidates Washington is reportedly interested in. The Commanders are also looking for a new head of football operations.

Macdonald, 36, is one of the hottest candidates to be a head coach around the NFL, viewed in league circles as one of the game’s brightest young minds.

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In just his second year as the Ravens’ defensive coordinator, he transformed the Ravens’ defense into the best in the NFL and perhaps one of the greatest of all time thanks to young defensive stars such as Roquan Smith, Kyle Hamilton and Justin Madubuike, but also because of the varied and elaborate schemes he has deployed that have often resulted in chaos and confusion for opponents.

Macdonald, who began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Georgia in 2010, joined the Ravens as a coaching intern in 2014 and quickly caught the attention of coach John Harbaugh and rose through the ranks. After two years as a defensive assistant, he was promoted to defensive backs coach in 2017 then linebackers coach the following year.

In 2021, he took a job as Michigan’s defensive coordinator under Harbaugh’s brother Jim and built a dominant defense in Ann Arbor before returning to the Ravens in 2022 to be their defensive coordinator.

When asked late last month if he’d received any calls from interested teams, Macdonald just shook his head and laughed.

“It’s hard to ignore, and it’s an honor to hear about it,” he said then. “It’s such a unique opportunity when it does come up. For guys that know me, I’m a one-track guy. It’s very difficult for me to do two things at once, so you try your best to focus on the things we need to focus on, which is the next game and getting our guys in position to win. To have that opportunity or have your name come up like that, it’s really a reflection of our coaches and our staff together.”

Monken, meanwhile, is in his first year with Baltimore after helping guide Georgia to national championships each of the previous two years.

The 57-year-old took over for the departed Greg Roman and instantly transformed the offense, deploying a spread attack, bringing an up-tempo pace and focusing on getting the ball out of Jackson’s hands quicker. But he also gave Jackson far more control in the offense both in its design and at the line of scrimmage, and the Ravens and their quarterback have flourished. Baltimore averaged the fourth-most points (28.4) in the NFL and delivered several high-octane performances while also leading the NFL in rushing yards.

Weaver, 43, is a former defensive end who was a second-round pick by the Ravens in 2002. He played four seasons in Baltimore, totaling 144 tackles, 14 1/2 sacks, 14 pass breakups, an interception, five forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries in 57 games, 54 of them starts.

He then signed with the Houston Texans as a free agent in 2006, starting in 44 games over three seasons before turning to coaching, first as a graduate assistant at Florida in 2010 and then as linebackers coach at North Texas the following year.

In 2012, Weaver joined the New York Jets as linebackers coach before being hired by the Buffalo Bills as defensive line coach in 2013. He held the same position with the Cleveland Browns in 2014 and 2015, then the Texans from 2016 to 2019 before being promoted to defensive coordinator in 2020.

But Weaver left the Texans two years ago to rejoin Baltimore, this time as run game coordinator/defensive line coach under Harbaugh. Last year, he was promoted to associate head coach.

With the Ravens’ success this season, it’s possible other assistants and front-office members could be sought after by other teams. Joe Hortiz, the team’s director of player personnel, has been rumored to be a candidate for general manager openings, while offensive coordinator Todd Monken could also be pursued to be a head coach.

This story might be updated.