The Ravens may have fired John Harbaugh, but they have no intention of letting his top lieutenants follow him to New York.
Baltimore has blocked a lateral move for special teams coordinator Chris Horton, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, preventing him from taking the same position on Harbaugh’s new staff. For the moment, the Ravens are holding onto assistant special teams coordinator Anthony Levine and senior special teams coach Randy Brown, though that could change once they land on a new head coach.
Harbaugh came up as a special teams coordinator, so it is no surprise he wants to bring his special teams assistants to New York. Brown worked with Harbaugh in Philadelphia and joined his original staff in Baltimore as a kicking consultant. Horton got his NFL start in Baltimore in 2014, while Levine was a Ravens special teams ace for a decade before retiring and joining their coaching staff. Levine currently has interest from the Buccaneers in their coordinator position, which would be a promotion that the Ravens cannot block.
The Giants, nonetheless, plan to continue undeterred with their pursuit of Ravens coaches, as well as employees in other roles. The team could submit 20 or more interview requests, per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. Baltimore may not be able to block all of those requests, which could force individuals to choose between their loyalty to Harbaugh and their loyalty to the Ravens.
Of course, Baltimore’s new head coach may be more willing to let certain coaches go as he fills his staff. Like Harbaugh, he could draw from the ranks of his former team, which could put the Ravens in the same position that the Giants are in right now.