The long-time assistant is taking on more responsibility following the departure of other top assistant coaches.
Among the flurry of non-Super Bowl-related news that broke on Sunday was a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport that the Baltimore Ravens have decided to add the role of associate head coach to the official title of Defensive Pass Game Coordinator and Secondary Coach Chris Hewitt.
Some non-Super Bowl news: The #Ravens have promoted pass game coordinator and secondary coach Chris Hewitt by adding the title of assistant head coach, source said. Hewitt is well respected across the NFL and has been with Baltimoee since 2012.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 12, 2024
In addition to his previous duties, the 49-year-old will now be filling the shoes of former Ravens Defensive Line Coach Anthony Weaver as Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh’s top assistant moving forward. Weaver departed to become the defensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins earlier this month within the week of the team’s loss in the AFC championship.
Hewitt is a well-respected coach in a similar fashion to his predecessor in this expanded and elevated role. All 12 years of his professional coaching experience has been with the Ravens after he started out as an assistant special teams coach during the 2012 Super Bowl-winning season. From there, he was promoted to assistant secondary coach in 2014 and has been in charge of the entire secondary since the 2015 season.
During his tenure at the helm, the Ravens’ defensive backfield has produced multiple Pro Bowls and even a couple of All-Pro seasons from seasoned and young defensive backs at both corner and safety, including Kyle Hamilton this past season, Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Peters, Eric Weddle, and Earl Thomas. Even though Geno Stone was snubbed from both the Pro Bowl and both All-Pro teams, he was still able to break out this past season and lead the AFC with a career-high seven interceptions under Hewitt’s guidance.
The Ravens have had several key defensive assistants depart this offseason after they assembled what many believed was the best coaching staff in the league this past season. Ensuring that one of their top remaining assistants stays put in an elevated role is a smart move by Harbaugh as it could potentially lead to Hewitt being hired as a head coach elsewhere someday. That would not only be great for increasing diversity among the head coaching ranks but it’d also net the Ravens a couple of third-round compensatory picks down the road, which could be clutch as Lamar Jackson’s cap hits grow higher.