Le Journal

The Baltimore Ravens have hired Jesse Minter as their next head coach, per a team announcement. Minter, 42, was the Chargers defensive coordinator for the last two years and will now become the fourth head coach in Ravens franchise history. He was long considered the favorite to replace John Harbaugh, who was fired after the team missed the playoffs. “I am truly honored to serve as the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens,” Minter said in a statement. “This is an organization whose values, culture, and tradition of excellence reflect everything I believe about the game of football and how it should be played. My family and I are thrilled to join the Ravens Flock and we can’t wait to make the fans, the great city of Baltimore, and Maryland proud.” Minter beat out 12 other candidates who interviewed for the job. Three others took positions with other teams, and the Ravens still had an initial interview request out for Broncos special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi. Minter, former Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel, Dolphins DC Anthony Weaver, and Bills OC Joe Brady all came to Baltimore for in-person interviews. The Ravens’ meetings with Weaver and McDaniel, who is biracial, ensured that they were compliant with the NFL’s Rooney Rule, which requires teams to conduct in-person interviews with two minority candidates for head coaching vacancies. The Ravens were interested in hosting coaches from teams competing in the conference championships this weekend for in-person interviews, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. However, those could not take place until next week, and Minter was gaining steam for the Raiders’ head coaching job. Rather than risk losing their preferred candidate, the Ravens swooped in and closed the deal with Minter. Minter is returning to Baltimore nearly a decade after he first joined the Ravens as a defensive assistant in 2017. He spent his first year working with future Ravens DCs Wink Martindale and Mike Macdonald on Dean Pees’ staff and continued to serve as a key lieutenant on Martindale’s staff. In 2020, Minter was promoted to defensive backs coach; the following year, he left Baltimore to take Vanderbilt’s defensive coordinator job. This is a breaking story that will be updated with more information.

Texas quarterback Arch Manning is set up for the best season of his young lifetime as he and the Longhorns look toward 2026 and his junior campaign.

National Championship-winning HC Curt Cignetti has the Longhorns ranked in a pretty advantageous spot heading into 2026.

The 2025 season was TCU’s second under defensive coordinator Andy Avalos. The Horned Frogs fared well to stop the pass last season, but run defense was another issue. TCU allowed 160.5 rushing yards and 4.2 yards per carry, making the Horned Frogs one of the worst run defenses in the Big 12. Would that improve in 2025? Returning most of its starting defensive linemen, including redshirt sophomore nose tackle Markis Deal, TCU made strides in the run game. The Horned Frogs held opponents to 133.1 rushing yards per game, which ranked fifth-best in the conference. TCU also limited foes to 3.7 yards per carry, which tied with BYU and Houston for fourth-best among Big 12 teams. The team allowed just 10 rushing touchdowns, second-fewest in the Big 12. Has some skills, Deal gonna be a dude in 26 for TCU pic.twitter.com/MMxcFii3ao— Jinx (@smartest1here) January 21, 2026 Although TCU fared well in the run game, generating pressure on the quarterback proved difficult. Fifth-year senior Devean Deal, who once again started at EDGE after transferring in from Tulane last offseason, finished with only 2.5 sacks, the most for any defensive lineman. Redshirt sophomore Ansel Din-Mbuh, a transfer from Washington State who registered six sacks in 2024, started 12 games this season, but compiled just two sacks. Redshirt sophomore Zach Chapman, a freshman all-american a year ago, logged only 1.5 sacks in nine starts. The good news for the Horned Frogs is that for the second offseason in a row, nearly every major contributor on the defensive line is eligible to return in 2026. We’ll first take a look at EDGE, where Devean Deal earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors in his second season at TCU. The older brother of Markis Deal registered 53 total tackles, which led all EDGE rushers, while adding four pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Most pressures, Big 12 EDGE defenders:David Bailey, Texas Tech: 74Romello Height, Texas Tech: 53John Henry Daley, Utah: 47Malachi Lawrence, UCF: 40Logan Fano, Utah: 36Devean Deal, TCU: 35Matthew Fobbs-White, Baylor: 33Wendell Gregory, Oklahoma State: 31Zach Chapman,… pic.twitter.com/7ktDpd8Vm9— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) December 8, 2025 With Deal graduating from the roster, TCU will look for redshirt junior Paul Oyewale and Zach Chapman to step in next season. Oyewale, who was rumored to be entering the transfer portal but has declared his return, totaled 31 total tackles, two sacks, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble. A four-year member of the Horned Frogs, Oyewale has played in 27 games over the course of his TCU career. Chapman, who’s played in 26 games at TCU, finished with 28 total tackles, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble in 2025. The Horned Frogs will be losing some depth at the EDGE position, as junior Jonathan Bax entered the portal and has since committed to Florida Atlantic. Replacing him will be sophomore Travis Jackson and a group of talented freshmen like Chad Woodfork, Jared Martin and John Schobel. TCU has signed two four-star prospects, Carter Buck and Jesse Ford, as well as Western Kentucky EDGE Koron Hayward and Texas Tech EDGE Cheta Ofili. Lake Travis DE Carter Buck talking about his decision to sign with TCU this morning @LTHSCavFootball @Carter_buck21 pic.twitter.com/RY1nJQ4FWp— Travis Recek (@TravisRecek) December 3, 2025 Moving over to defensive tackle, Din-Mbuh and Markis Deal are both returning next season. Din-Mbuh logged 24 total tackles, while Deal posted 26 total tackles, one sack and two pass breakups. Deal will be one of the team’s more experienced interior players, having played in 28 games over three seasons. Top reserves coming back include redshirt freshman Tristan Johnson, a midseason all-american who had 17 total tackles and 1.5 sacks. Freshmen Floyd Guidry III, Brody Whatley and Blake Robinett are all projected to return next season. Veteran names to watch include Connor Lingren, TCU’s No. 2 nose tackle who had eight tackles in…