The Baltimore Ravens are wasting no time in their search for a new head coach, and it looks like one name is starting to stand out to them. After firing John Harbaugh, the Ravens began the process of hiring just the fourth head coach in team history. The Ravens have already interviewed 17 candidates, but now, one coach from Buffalo seems to be pulling ahead.

“The Ravens plan to bring in Bills OC Joe Brady this week for a second interview for their head coaching job, per sources,” NFL insider Tom Pelissero reported via X on January 19.

That’s a big signal from the Ravens as teams don’t hand out second interviews unless they’re seriously interested. Joe Brady served as the Buffalo Bills’ interim offensive coordinator in 2023 and took over as the full-time OC in 2024. Brady is reportedly one of two finalists for Baltimore’s HC job. If Brady gets the job, he could go from coaching the Bills’ quarterback Josh Allen to working with Ravens’ two-time MVP QB Lamar Jackson. 

The 36-year-old started his coaching career back in 2013 at William & Mary as a linebackers coach. But Joe Brady really broke onto the national scene in 2019, when LSU hired him as its passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach. That season turned into something special for Brady as he won the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach. Brady also helped LSU win the College Football Playoff national championship in 2019.

Under Joe Brady, LSU’s QB Joe Burrow also recorded 60 touchdowns and just six interceptions in 2019. Burrow’s performance that season also led to him being selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. Brady then parlayed that success into an NFL job, leaving LSU after just one year to become the Carolina Panthers’ offensive coordinator. However, that stint did not last long as the Panthers fired Brady before the end of his second season.

The Bills then brought Joe Brady in as a QB coach in 2022 and later promoted him to OC after moving on from Ken Dorsey. Since Brady took over as OC, Buffalo’s offense has become noticeably more diverse and balanced. In the three seasons under Brady, Buffalo’s offensive unit has never finished outside the top 10 in total offense.

While Josh Allen is the reigning MVP now, Bills running back James Cook also just won his first rushing title this season. In the 2025 campaign, Buffalo ranked first in rushing yards (2,714), third in offensive EPA (94.6), fourth in yards per play (6.1), and fifth in points per game (27.3). 

Still, everything changed when the Bills fired head coach Sean McDermott on January 19. Suddenly, Brady’s future in Buffalo looks far less certain, and Baltimore could make a lot of sense as his next destination. But interestingly, Tom Pelissero also linked McDermott as a potential option for the Ravens.

“If we talk about where Sean McDermott could potentially land next, it doesn’t make a ton of sense for him to go into a total rebuild,” Pelissero said recently on The Rich Eisen Show. “He is 51 years old, he’s been there every year – been in the play-offs, every season here in recent years. The teams to watch for Sean McDermott – potentially the Steelers. Though that would be outside of their normal bucket in terms of who they look higher. Baltimore is certainly one that I could see making a lot of sense for Sean McDermott, and the other one would be Tennessee.”

Pelissero didn’t say the Ravens are actively targeting McDermott, but he did suggest that Baltimore could be a good fit for him. But at the same time, Ravens veteran linebacker Kyle Van Noy has also made it clear what kind of coach he wants to see.

Kyle Von Noy makes a pitch for the Ravens’ future HC

Baltimore fired John Harbaugh because, in recent years, the team simply couldn’t get close to the Super Bowl. The Ravens’ 26-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2025 season finale knocked them out of playoff contention and sealed an 8-9 losing record. So what should the next coach in Baltimore look like? Kyle Van Noy has a pretty clear idea.

“I would love to see a guy just take it to another level,” Van Noy said recently on NFL GameDay. “Get the best out of the players that you have there. Get the best out of Lamar [Jackson], get the best out of Derrick Henry, get the best out of Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews. Just see what heights you can go, and I really believe they need an ‘X’s and O’s guy’ in there to take them to that next level.”

The Ravens took a noticeable step back in 2025 under John Harbaugh’s CEO style coaching. As such, almost every candidate the Ravens have interviewed for their HC job so far fits that ‘X’s and O’s’ description, which Kyle Van Noy gave. Getting the most out of their talent will sit at the top of the priority list for the Ravens while heading into the 2026 season. That also lines up perfectly with what general manager Eric DeCosta said the team wants in its next head coach.

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“We want somebody who’s an expert in X’s and O’s, and we want somebody who the players can relate to, but also somebody that’s going to be firm and continue the culture that we’ve built, which we think is important,” DeCosta said in a press conference last week.

The expectations in Baltimore remain sky-high. With Lamar Jackson on the roster, the Ravens believe they should be competing for Super Bowls, not just playoff spots. Still, replacing John Harbaugh won’t be easy. In his 18 seasons with the Ravens, Harbaugh posted a 180-113 regular-season record and delivered a Super Bowl title in 2013. But now, with Harbaugh set to begin a new chapter in New York, the Ravens face one of the most important decisions in franchise history.