OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — The next coach of the Baltimore Ravens will have a couple of tough acts to follow, given how quickly the previous two won a Super Bowl.
“It took (Brian) Billick two years, John (Harbaugh) five,” owner Steve Bisciotti said. “Maybe I'll give this guy six.”
Bisciotti might have been joking, but it was clear Tuesday he has high hopes for the team's next hire. The owner held a rare news conference, speaking for about an hour. Bisciotti discussed a variety of topics, but the lively session was largely centered on his decision to fire Harbaugh last week after 18 seasons.
“I got to the point that I didn’t believe that I would feel regret after I made that decision,” Bisciotti said. “That’s what instinct is. When you finally get to the point that you’re pretty damn sure that you are not going to regret the decision a day or a week later, then that’s the time to make the decision.”
Whoever follows Harbaugh has a chance to inherit two-time MVP Lamar Jackson at quarterback. Although Baltimore missed the playoffs this season, the Ravens reached the AFC title game a couple of years ago and have won the AFC North four times in Jackson's eight pro seasons.
“When Tony Dungy said this is a bad decision and good luck finding someone better than John, I literally wanted to call Tony and say, ‘Do you remember John 18 years ago?’” Bisciotti said. “How can you take our success and use it against me while we're out trying to find the next John Harbaugh?”
Bisciotti was not shy about speaking his mind. He gave a clear vote of confidence to general manager Eric DeCosta, who was seated next to him and fielded some questions of his own, but Bisciotti took responsibility for firing Harbaugh.
“I tried to take my love and respect of John out of it, and it’s (DeCosta's) best friend, so I don’t know that he could, and I admire him for it, but I had to look at them and say, ‘You’re pretty close to me. You’re not there. I’m going to push you over the edge. I’m going to make the decision,’” Bisciotti said. “I made the decision by myself, and they understood. We had already talked about why I was there, and I didn’t need them to come to my side of the fence for me to make this tough decision.”
Bisciotti acknowledged firing Harbaugh over the phone, saying he was at home and Harbaugh was in the car heading home.
“I thought it would kind of be a jerk move to call him up and say, ‘Hey coach, meet me at the office in an hour,’” Bisciotti said.
The news conference began shortly after Baltimore announced that it had completed an interview with Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores for the coaching vacancy. The Ravens have also talked to Miami defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, outgoing Washington offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, Kansas City offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, Denver defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, Denver passing game coordinator Davis Webb, Seattle offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and outgoing Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski.
All of those candidates except Webb, Weaver and Kubiak have at least some head coaching experience in the NFL. Bisciotti made a point of saying that struggles in a previous head coaching position wouldn't necessarily deter the Ravens from hiring a given candidate.
“It’d be very easy for me to try and avoid those ex-head coaches because they have losing records, but I’m telling you, we are keen to their circumstances,” Bisciotti said. “We won’t let their first shot at a job influence us negatively for this one.”
Bisciotti also said Jackson has an open invitation to come with the owner to interviews later in the process.
Baltimore's owner was asked whether outgoing Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin might come coach the Ravens:
“Only if John takes the Pittsburgh job. Wow. Wouldn't that be interesting? I don't know,” Bisciotti said, before referencing Tomlin's chest-pounding, kiss-blowing celebration after the Steelers beat the Ravens to win the division. “That thing last week maybe disqualified him from my opening after our kicker missed the kick to let them advance.”
On a possible extension for Jackson, who has two years left on his existing deal:
“We want another window, and Lamar knows that. I think that he’s amenable to doing something that mirrors the last deal he did, although the annual number will be a little higher.”
On whether Harbaugh would have remained the coach if Baltimore had beaten Pittsburgh in Week 18 to make the playoffs:
“For a week.”
On his future as an owner:
“I want to win a couple of Super Bowls and get the hell out. I’d love that to be in the next 10 years when I’m 75. That’s my dream. If I have one of the top teams at 75, I’ll probably stay until 76. I’ll probably bail somewhere around 10 years from now when I have a really bad season or back-to-back seasons.”
On how much say Jackson will have in the coaching search:
“A lot of say, but he has no power. I have the power. They have opinions, and I want them all. I care about my players very much, but I can’t give them power.”
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Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh speaks during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Justin Berl)
FILE - Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti walks on the field prior to an NFL preseason football game against the Indianapolis Colts Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon,File)
GUANARE, Venezuela (AP) — Freedom came too late for Edilson Torres.
The police officer was buried Tuesday in his humble, rural hometown following his death in a Venezuelan prison, where he was held incommunicado since his December detention on what his family said were politically motivated accusations. Before the service, a funeral procession stopped at a local jail, where his wife remains detained on disputed accusations.
Torres, 51, died of a heart attack on Saturday, just as his family awaited the government's promised release of prisoners following the U.S. capture of then-President Nicolás Maduro. His death comes as scores of families like his — who once hesitated to approach advocacy groups — are now coming forward to register their loved ones as “political prisoners.”
Alfredo Romero, director of the organization Foro Penal, a nongovernmental organization that tracks and advocates for Venezuelan prisoners, said the group has received a “flood of messages” since last week from families.
“They didn’t report it out of fear, and now they’re doing it because, in a way, they feel that there is this possibility that their families will be freed,” Romero said. “They see it as hope, but more importantly, as an opportunity.”
The head of Venezuela’s national assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, said last week that a “significant number” of Venezuelan and foreigners imprisoned in the country would be released as a gesture to “seek peace” following the explosions that rocked the South American nation in the early hours of Jan. 3.
The U.S. and Venezuela's opposition have long demanded the widespread release of detained opposition figures, activists and journalists, whom they claim are used as a political tool by the ruling party.
Venezuela’s government denies that there are prisoners unjustly detained, accusing them of plotting to destabilize Maduro’s government.
Following Torres' death, Venezuela's Attorney General Tarek William Saab said in a statement that the case had been assigned to a terrorism unit and “was linked to criminal activities detected by state security agencies.” He did not offer any details, but the vague language tracks with past accusations leveled against real or perceived government critics.
Romero explained that of the roughly 300 families who reached out, about 100 cases so far have been confirmed as politically motivated. Most of those reported over the past few days, he said, once worked for Venezuela's military. That is on top of more than 800 people that the organization says continue to be detained for political reasons in Venezuela.
As of Tuesday evening, Foro Penal had confirmed 56 prisoners it said were detained for political reasons had been freed. The group criticized the lack of government transparency over the releases. Venezuela’s government negated the organization's count, and reported a far higher figure of 400 Tuesday afternoon.
But the government did not provide evidence of the releases, a time range in which they were carried out nor identify those freed, making it impossible to determine whether those freed were behind bars for political or other reasons.
“My little brother, my little brother,” Emelyn Torres said between sobs after his casket, cloaked in Venezuela's flag, arrived at her home for the wake. A few feet away, their grandmother nearly fainted as dozens of people crammed into the living room to pay their respects.
Hours earlier, as a minivan transported the body of her brother 267 miles (430 kilometers) from the capital, Caracas, to Guanare, Torres learned that other men linked to the WhatsApp group that led to her brother's arrest had just been released from prison. She wailed.
Among those who have been released are: human rights attorney Rocío San Miguel, who immediately relocated to Spain; Biagio Pilieri, an opposition leader who was part of Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado’s 2024 presidential campaign; and Enrique Márquez, a former electoral authority and presidential candidate.
Italian businessman Marco Burlò, who was released from prison Monday, told reporters outside an international airport in Rome Tuesday that he was kept isolated throughout his detention, which he characterized as a “pure and real kidnapping.”
“I can’t say that I was physically abused, but without being able to talk to our children, without the right to defense, without being able to speak to the lawyer, completely isolated, here they thought that I might have died,” he said.
The small set of releases over the past few days continues to fuel criticisms by families, human rights watchdogs at the United Nations and U.S. politicians, who have accused the government of not following through on their word of a wider release.
But the rapid political shifts in the Latin American nation and the distant possibility of release simultaneously marked a rare moment of hope for many families who have spent years wondering if their loved ones would ever be freed.
Part of the reason that Romero said he believed so many people had not come forward is the government's ongoing crackdown on dissent since Venezuela's tumultuous 2024 election, which Maduro claimed to have won despite ample credible evidence to the contrary.
As mass street protests broke out, authorities said they detained more than 2,000 people. In the month after July elections, Venezuela's government passed a law — dubbed the “anti-NGO law” by critics — making it easier for the government to criminalize human rights groups.
That had a chilling effect, Romero said, making families hesitant to come forward — until now.
Janetsky reported from Mexico City.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Students lay out photos of people they consider political prisoners at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Jacklin Ibarreto, whose father Miguel Ibarreto is detained, waits outside the Rodeo I prison in Guatire, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, after National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said the government would release Venezuelan and foreign prisoners. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Relatives and friends of political prisoners hold candles calling for their loved ones to be set free outside the Rodeo I prison in Guatire, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026 after the government announced prisoners would be released. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Relatives stand beside the coffin during the wake of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, in Guanare, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
El Helicoide, the headquarters of Venezuela's intelligence service and detention center, stands in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, after National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said the government would release Venezuelan and foreign prisoners. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Students lay out photos of people they consider political prisoners at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Flor Zambrano, whose son, Rene Chourio, she says is detained at Zone 7 of the Bolivarian National Police for political reasons, embraces relatives of other detainees outside the facility in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
A photo of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, and his family adorns his coffin during his wake at his home in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Relatives of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, sit by his coffin during his wake in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Emelyn Torres leans over the casket of her brother, Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being detained on accusations of treason, during his wake at his home in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Emelyn Torres and Maria Cristina Fernandez, the sister and grandmother of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison after being detained on accusations of treason, embrace during his wake at his home in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
