Ravens Need to Find ‘The Mike Macdonald of the Offense’

The consensus is that the Ravens nailed it with the hiring of Mike Macdonald as defensive coordinator last offseason. As the search for the next offensive coordinator continues, Russell Street Report’s Chris Schisler said the team should take the same approach it did with Macdonald.

“The Ravens would be wise to find another young, up-and-coming coach, somebody whose career trajectory can take off just like Macdonald’s did,” Schisler wrote.

Macdonald, 35, is the youngest defensive coordinator in the NFL. He began his coaching career as an intern with the Ravens in 2014 and was an assistant coach with the team from 2015-2020 before becoming defensive coordinator with Michigan in 2021.

“Macdonald has only had two years of experience calling plays for a defense, and only one at the NFL level,” Schisler wrote. “The jump from college to the NFL was manageable because of his previous experience with the Ravens, [but] it was still an experiment. Yet you’ll notice, with all the questions buzzing around this franchise, nobody is talking about the defensive coordinator position. That’s the experiment paying off.”

Under Macdonald, the Ravens defense was No. 3 in points allowed and No. 9 in yards allowed.

While there’s certainly something to be said for hiring a coordinator with plenty of experience, Schisler contended that “the Ravens should choose somebody with momentum.”

“The idea of hiring a position coach as an offensive coordinator is gutsy. What the Ravens desperately need to avoid is something stale,” Schisler wrote. “… The Ravens must find the offensive equivalent to what they have in Macdonald. That would get Ravens fans excited.”

Schisler noted that the offensive coordinator candidate whose career path most resembles Macdonald’s is Buffalo Bills wide receivers coach Chad Hall, 36, who reportedly interviewed with the Ravens this week.

“The fact that he’s even in the conversation shows you that he’s got…