Ravens' 'DB expert' Chuck Pagano couldn't wait to come out of retirement

Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun on Jun 5, 2025

Published in Football

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

BALTIMORE — Chuck Pagano enjoyed the easy-going nature of retirement. He played golf, worked out and visited with his grandkids. He’d do chores around the house. But most days, by 10 a.m., he’d stare at the clock wondering what to do with the rest of his time.

“Life was pretty good,” he said. “A lot of my friends were like, ‘Are you out of your mind? Why would you go back to the grind?’ You can’t replicate this. You can’t replicate the grind.”

The Ravens’ new senior secondary coach didn’t agree with the idea that he got an itch to return to coaching. Pagano never truly stopped thinking about getting back on the field. It just had to be the right situation.

There were offers elsewhere. But the only opportunity “to get me off the couch,” he said, was a reunion in Baltimore, where he served on John Harbaugh’s first coaching staff from 2008 to 2011.

Pagano’s most recent NFL gig was as defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears, but he retired in early 2021. He was a head coach in Indianapolis for six seasons before that. The way he stayed connected to the game in retirement was as a regular contributor on “The Pat McAfee Show,” hosted by his longtime Colts punter.

“That was kind of my football fix,” Pagano said.

But it only kept him in the NFL stratosphere for six months out of the year. The 64-year-old whose family told him he retired too early looked right at ease, trudging off the practice field after the Ravens’ fifth open practice of organized team activities sweating through a black long sleeve T-shirt.

Like the way players have to ramp up into football shape wearing pads under the summer sun, “coaching is no different,” Pagano said. He and the Peloton bike have gotten reacquainted as he’s easing back into life as a coach.

Baltimore poses a fun challenge with a secondary that has been compared to a chess board this offseason. All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton can play all over the field. As can veteran All-Pro cornerback Marlon Humphrey. The Ravens expect a similar versatility from first-round pick Malaki Starks. Second-year cornerback Nate Wiggins should build on an impressive rookie season too.

That’s an intriguing cocktail for a veteran coach who defensive coordinator Zach Orr called a “DB expert.”

Pagano told “The Pat McAfee Show” the phone call that pulled him out of retirement seemingly came out of nowhere. Ravens brass made the hire official in late January. It’s fair to say his nearly quarter-century of NFL coaching experience was well received.

“A lot of guys went up to him — he might not know I know this,” Orr said, “but a lot of guys went up to him and asked one on one what they could work on. He had an answer for every single one of those guys. A detailed summary.”

Some of those guys had plenty of tape for Pagano to parse through before giving feedback. Others hadn’t really been on the field yet, like 2024 draft picks T.J. Tampa Jr. and Beau Brade.

It wasn’t just individual notes. Pagano and Orr had conversations about the highs and lows of a confounding year for the collective Ravens’ defense. Chunk yardage was their biggest hindrance, as Baltimore led the NFL in explosive plays allowed in 2024. But after the bye week, when Ar’Darius Washington solidified into the second safety role, the defense finished near the top of the league. Washington is slated to miss a significant chunk of the 2025 season with a torn Achilles tendon.

Two things stood out to the Pagano, who watched games from his couch at home. He felt like the level of communication on the back end wasn’t where it needed to be, something Orr took onus for. The other note he had was on the defensive backs’ technique, or lack thereof, on those downfield throws. Orr said Pagano noticed guys’ “eyes not right, leverage is not right or body position is not right.”

This was the Pagano that Baltimore hoped to be getting. The one who felt a calling to return to the field and help contribute to a Super Bowl contender. “Juice,” “energy” and “knowledge” were the three words Orr used to describe Pagano. He’ll have less time to do chores at home. He won’t have days where 10 a.m. hits and he thinks, “Can’t start drinking. Have to wait to a certain time to start that.”

Now he gets to drive into the team’s Owings Mills facility and get his fix of football work. “Every morning when I come in and it says access granted, I’m like ‘Thank you.”