Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta on new coach Jesse Minter: 'He just blew us away'

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — As much as Jesse Minter seemed like an obvious fit for the Baltimore Ravens, he still had to show he was ready for their coveted coaching vacancy.

Then he showed up for an in-person visit.

“He just blew us away,” general manager Eric DeCosta said. “As good as his Zoom interview was, I think spending time with him in Baltimore was even more valuable. I think at that point, while he was with me in my office, I started to imagine Jesse as our head coach and what that might look like.”

Now Minter has the job, and with it the task of replacing John Harbaugh at the helm of a team that was considered a Super Bowl favorite just a few months ago. The 42-year-old Minter returns to the franchise where he was on the defensive staff for four seasons from 2017-20. Since then, he's been a defensive coordinator for Vanderbilt, Michigan and the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Ravens introduced Minter at a news conference Thursday.

The Baltimore job was considered perhaps the best opening of this cycle, thanks largely to the presence of two-time MVP Lamar Jackson at quarterback. Although Jackson's post-injury struggles were a big reason the Ravens missed the playoffs this season, the defense shouldered a lot of the blame, too. So it made sense to look at Minter, given his experience coaching defense and his familiarity with the Ravens.

“When I heard Jesse’s name as a possible candidate, it was hard for me to envision Jesse like he is, because my experience was with Jesse primarily in the draft years ago when he was doing all the bottom guys on the draft board in the secondary. I just didn’t really ever think of him like that,” DeCosta said. “But watching him last year — we played (the Chargers) last year — and watching that defense, I’m like, ‘Damn, this is a good team. This is a really good defense. Jesse’s doing a hell of a job.’”

Minter said the Baltimore job was the one he wanted, and while any new coach might say that, there are plenty of reasons to believe him.

“You really have no idea what jobs are going to be open. As you get towards the middle and end of the season, you feel like you might be a candidate,” Minter said. “But when this job opened, this became the one for me, and this was the one that I wanted. I did go through the initial process with a lot of different teams, but as I was able to reconnect with people in this organization, and knowing the history, knowing the tradition, knowing the spine of the organization, kind of what it’s built on, there was no better place for me.”

The Ravens interviewed no fewer than 16 people for the job, which DeCosta described as an illuminating process for a team that hadn't had a head coaching vacancy since Harbaugh took over before the 2008 season.

“It was a sprint. We treated it like a two-week draft, essentially,” DeCosta said. “In most cases, we’d have two interviews a day at various times of the day. It was just really interesting. It was valuable for me, personally, to talk to all these extremely intelligent great leaders from other teams to see how they do things. I learned a lot. It’s not something that you want to do every year, certainly, but to do it once I think was a very, very valuable experience for me.”

Minter said he plans to call defensive plays. He also said he's had “multiple conversations” with Jackson and looks forward to more. DeCosta said a small group of players met with finalists for the job, either in person or via video conferencing.

Minter takes over a team with plenty of talent. Since Jackson was drafted in 2018, only Kansas City and Buffalo have more regular-season wins than Baltimore. But the Ravens and Bills haven't reached a Super Bowl during that span, and it was no coincidence that both hired new coaches this month.

“We will build a true team built on toughness, fundamentals, a team that plays together, and we will work to be the best team in the National Football League,” Minter said. “We will be at our best when our best is needed — I think that’s really important.”

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Baltimore Ravens head coach Jesse Minter poses for a photo with his family after an introductory press conference at the Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills, Md., Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Ravens head coach Jesse Minter, center, speaks during an introductory press conference with Ravens president Sashi Brown, left, and executive vice president and general manager Eric DeCosta, at the Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills, Md., Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Ravens head coach Jesse Minter, center, speaks during an introductory press conference with Ravens president Sashi Brown, left, and executive vice president and general manager Eric DeCosta, at the Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills, Md., Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Ravens head coach Jesse Minter speaks during an introductory press conference at the Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills, Md., Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Justice Department has charged a man who squirted apple cider vinegar on Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar at an event in Minneapolis, according to court papers made public Thursday.

The man arrested for Tuesday’s attack, Anthony Kazmierczak, faces a charge of forcibly assaulting, opposing, impeding and intimidating Omar, according to a complaint filed in federal court.

Authorities determined that the substance was water and apple cider vinegar, according to an affidavit. After Kazmierczak sprayed Omar with the liquid, he appeared to say, “She's not resigning. You're splitting Minnesotans apart,” the affidavit says. Authorities also say that Kazmierczak told a close associate several years ago that “somebody should kill” Omar, court documents say.

Kazmierczak appeared briefly in federal court Thursday afternoon. His attorney, Jean Brandl, told the judge her client was unmedicated at the time of the incident and has not had access to the medications he needs to treat Parkinson’s disease and other serious conditions he suffers from.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Dulce Foster ordered that Kazmierczak remain in custody and told officials he needs to see a nurse when he is transferred to the Sherburne County Jail.

Kazmierczak also faces state charges in Hennepin County for terroristic threats and fifth-degree assault, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced Thursday.

“This was a disturbing assault on Rep. Omar, who is frequently the target of vilifying language by fellow elected officials and members of the public,” Moriarty said. “The trust of our community in the federal government keeping politics out of public safety has been eroded by their actions. A state-level conviction is not subject to a presidential pardon now or in the future.”

The attack came during a perilous political moment in Minneapolis, where two people have been fatally shot by federal agents during the White House’s aggressive immigration crackdown.

Kazmierczak has a criminal history and has made online posts supportive of President Donald Trump, a Republican.

Omar, a refugee from Somalia, has long been a fixture of Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric. After she was elected seven years ago, Trump said she should “go back” to her country. He recently described her as “garbage” and said she should be investigated. During a speech in Iowa earlier this week, shortly before Omar was attacked, he said immigrants need to be proud of the United States — “not like Ilhan Omar.”

Omar blamed Trump on Wednesday for threats to her safety.

“Every time the president of the United States has chosen to use hateful rhetoric to talk about me and the community that I represent, my death threats skyrocket,” Omar told reporters.

Trump accused Omar of staging the attack, telling ABC News, “She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a leading Muslim civil rights group, praised federal prosecutors' decision to file charges against Kazmierczak.

“We welcome these federal charges for the attack on Representative Ilhan Omar as an important step toward accountability and justice," CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement. "The dangerous climate of dehumanization that inevitably leads to such violent acts puts public servants and entire communities at risk.”

Kazmierczak was convicted of felony auto theft in 1989, has been arrested multiple times for driving under the influence and has had numerous traffic citations, Minnesota court records show. There are also indications he has had significant financial problems, including two bankruptcy filings.

In social media posts, Kazmierczak criticized former President Joe Biden and referred to Democrats as “angry and liars.” Trump “wants the US is stronger and more prosperous,” he wrote. “Stop other countries from stealing from us.”

In another post, Kazmierczak asked, “When will descendants of slaves pay restitution to Union soldiers’ families for freeing them/dying for them, and not sending them back to Africa?”

Threats against members of Congress have increased in recent years, peaking in 2021 following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters before dipping slightly, only to climb again, according to the most recent figures from the U.S. Capitol Police.

Officials said they investigated nearly 15,000 “concerning statements, behaviors, and communications directed against Members of Congress, their families, staff, and the Capitol Complex” in 2025.

Richer reported from Washington. Associated Press reporter R.J. Rico in Atlanta contributed.

Follow the AP's coverage of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar at https://apnews.com/hub/ilhan-omar.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., speaks during a town hall in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP)

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., speaks during a press conference on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

A man is tackled to the ground after spraying an unknown substance on U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., during a town hall on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Minneapolis. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP)

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., stands during a press conference on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)