One year after John Harbaugh coaxed Greg Mattison out of college football, he turned over the Ravens' defense to his longtime friend.
Mattison, 59, who spent the 2008 season coaching the Ravens' inside linebackers, will succeed Rex Ryan as defensive coordinator, the team announced yesterday.
The decision to stay in-house with the next coordinator was Harbaugh's in a concession to continuity and chemistry. Mattison was selected after a round of four interviews with staff members Vic Fangio, Clarence Brooks and Chuck Pagano.
"I'm very humbled and very proud to be named the coordinator of the Ravens," Mattison said at a news conference. "I think the biggest thing I plan on doing is utilizing a great staff. Our defensive staff is out of sight, and we will work very closely together in making sure we keep moving toward that bar that's been established, the way we play defense here."
Harbaugh actually had two staff positions to fill. When Ryan became coach of the New York Jets last week, he took Mike Pettine as his defensive coordinator. Pettine coached outside linebackers for the Ravens the past four seasons.
To fill the void, Harbaugh said, Fangio will coach all linebackers next season and continue in his role as special assistant to Harbaugh.
Harbaugh also said special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg will take over the title of assistant head coach, previously held by Ryan.
That's not necessarily the end of the staff shuffle, however. Quarterbacks coach Hue Jackson interviewed for the San Francisco 49ers' offensive coordinator position last week. Harbaugh said he hopes to hold the rest of his staff together, "but at the same time, we don't want to hold people back unfairly from opportunities."
He said there would be no more defections to Ryan and the Jets, however.
Hiring "Mike Pettine, obviously, was important to Rex, and we allowed that to happen," Harbaugh said. "It's good for both those guys. But Rex is finished with the Ravens - as far as that goes."
With Mattison - who spent 31 years coaching in college, including at Michigan, Notre Dame and Florida - Harbaugh said, he can keep the same chemistry in the locker room that Ryan had.
"Rex did a tremendous job of getting the most out of his players and having them believe and trust in what they're doing, be accountable for what they're doing," Harbaugh said. "And those are the strengths that I've always felt Greg had as a coach. ... I think our defense will evolve in that way, just like we have in the past here."
