Jesse Minter’s Ravens staff is fostering accountability through conversation: ‘No gray’

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Cornerback Marlon Humphrey is pretty sure his new head coach told him he sucked the other day.

Jesse Minter didn’t say it in so many words, but that’s how Humphrey took it. But, with the way Minter and his assistants have handled meetings and conversations, Humphrey felt comfortable talking to him about it.

That comfort seems to extend across all position groups, Humphrey said. Even on the field, Humphrey has overheard the wide receivers having open conversations with their coaches he’s never noticed before.

Ever since the Ravens returned for offseason training, the players have raved about the new energy in the building. In May, tight end Mark Andrews spoke of the new staff’s communication. Wide receiver Zay Flowers said he stops by Minter’s and offensive coordinator Declan Doyle’s offices once a week. Safety Kyle Hamilton talked about how Minter keeps players engaged through long meetings.

As things heat up through training camp, tempers have as well. Minter has gotten ahead of fights by making it clear he doesn’t condone them. When things get chippy, he appears to have a firm word with those involved, balancing competitiveness with compliance with NFL rules.

In meeting rooms he’s addressed drama before it builds, Humphrey said.

“Throughout any season, there will be drama, there will be stuff that happens,” Humphrey said. “How quickly can you address it? ... The other day, we were in meetings. There were some old scars from different coverages, different positions, and he addressed it right there, immediately.”

Humphrey is the only remaining Ravens defensive back from when Minter was an assistant with the team. He said it was a little weird at first, and he was interested to see how Minter would address the room.

“I’ve been very impressed and surprised at how he’s kind of progressed throughout the years,” Humphrey said. “You can tell when a coach is being honest. Even though they’re our coaches, we’re all grown men, so you know when a man’s lying to you [and] you know when a man’s telling the truth. I think that’s a big key. That’s something we talk about in our room all the time. There will be no gray [area]. It’s black, or it’s white. There will be no gray. We can’t have gray, because gray just causes confusion and then you get colorblind. So it’s really good, I think, how Jesse’s kind of running things, and I really like it.”

His staff shares Minter’s balance of welcoming energy and direct conversation. Running back Justice Hill described his new position coach, Eddie Faulkner, as militant — but in a good way.

As a former Pittsburgh Steelers coach, Faulkner has an interesting perspective of the Ravens running backs, having observed them often from the other side of the field. Players have welcomed his feedback, Hill said, because it’s clear he wants to help them be their best. He said they’re all reading a book, “Upstream: How to Solve Problems Before They Happen,” to learn about leadership.

Meanwhile, Doyle is the most detail-oriented offensive coordinator Hill can recall working with and the most balanced in his expertise between pass and run. Wide receiver Rashod Bateman also said Doyle’s attention to detail is the biggest difference in the offense.

They’re in the honeymoon phase, Hill acknowledged, but he feels there’s been a natural chemistry between staff and players. Humphrey said the biggest difference in this staff is it feels unified from top to bottom. Bateman said Minter’s focus seems to be on connecting the team, something he thinks it needed.

Humphrey has been around the block a few times — nine to be exact — but his goal coming into this season was to lean on the coaching staff to learn how he can improve.

“I want to be fully aligned with the people coaching me, the players I’m playing with,” Humphrey said.

The staff has made it easy, an appreciative Humphrey said. He’s impressed with how much he’s learned in a short time, and he’s effusive about the secondary coaches.

“Coaching is coaching, but it seems like they really care a little bit more than what I can say I’ve experienced in the past,” Humphrey said.

Meanwhile, Minter may have conveyed to Humphrey that he sucks, but publicly he returned the vote of confidence in his player.

“I think that he’s really embraced some of the technical changes, maybe, and again, he’s getting better and better,” Minter said. “I expect great things out of Marlon.”