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The search for the “next John Harbaugh” is on.

Over the next three weeks, general manager Eric DeCosta said, team leadership will have a coaching version of NFL draft prep (as in many, many interviews) as it chooses the next head coach of the Ravens and fills out the coaching staff.

While the Ravens aren’t looking for a carbon copy of Harbaugh (otherwise, why fire him?), they are hoping for a coach who can bring similar levels of success and stability — plus another Super Bowl.

“The next coach we get, I want him to be a Super Bowl-winning coach, too,” owner Steve Bisciotti said. “God bless him if he can rise up to the level John did and be staring at a gold [Hall of Fame] jacket.”

The final candidate might not be at the top of the betting charts. As Bisciotti, who made his fortune through his staffing and recruitment agency, Allegis Group, pointed out, his selection of Harbaugh 18 years ago surprised many.

Although there may be nuggets to be gleaned from the process that found Harbaugh, Bisciotti said he’s not looking at things the same way, nor will he have the same part in the process. He wants DeCosta and team President Sashi Brown to play a large role in picking the finalists. Bisciotti is sitting out the first round of interviews but plans to spend time with the final five candidates.

Here’s what Bisciotti and DeCosta said about the Ravens’ requirements for their next coach.

Offensive or defensive

To put it bluntly, Bisciotti “really couldn’t care [less].”

“You have to set expectations, hold players accountable, foster a relationship where they love this place and love this culture and football’s the most important thing in their lives.”

Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta

He demonstrated that when he hired Harbaugh, who had spent most of his NFL career in Philadelphia as a special teams coordinator.

While fans and pundits debate whether the team needs an offensive or defensive guru, Bisciotti is more concerned with who the team needs. If the person who clicks is a defensive coordinator, great. He can hire a fantastic offensive coordinator.

As Bisciotti said, the Ravens are not just hiring a head coach. They’re hiring two coordinators (essentially confirmation that offensive coordinator Todd Monken and defensive coordinator Zach Orr will not be back, even if the team hasn’t announced any changes).

The Ravens have interviewed or requested to interview seven candidates with an offensive background, five with a defensive background and three with experience coaching both. DeCosta, who will help choose the finalists, did not state his preferences.

Play-caller or CEO

Once again, Bisciotti doesn’t have a preference.

Harbaugh was more of a CEO, deferring to Monken’s and Orr’s game plans and play-calling.

Bisciotti said there are about a dozen head coaches calling their own plays now, and he indicated he didn’t mind either way.

Whether the coach calls the plays or not, he will need to have a great football mind, according to DeCosta.

“We want somebody who’s an expert in X’s and O’s,” DeCosta said.

Fresh face or impressive résumé

Here, Bisciotti was very clear. While Harbaugh was largely unproven compared to other candidates when Bisciotti picked him, things have changed. Bisciotti has become fascinated with a specific phenomenon.

“Unlike 18 years ago, I am very intrigued by coaches that were the hottest offensive and defensive coordinators from five, six or seven years ago in their cycles and got jobs and went to teams that were noncompetitive and didn’t have a quarterback, and they grind for three or four years, and they’re caught up in the cycle,“ Bisciotti said.

Bisciotti wasn’t committing to hiring someone with head coaching experience, but he wouldn’t rule out head coaches who had been fired or had losing records.

“You all are going to have to understand that we are going to be able to judge that failure with his circumstances and marry that up and not disqualify them,” Bisciotti said.

The Ravens have interviewed or requested to interview seven men who have the title “head coach” on their résumés — Jim Schwartz, Brian Flores, Vance Joseph, Kliff Kingsbury, Mike McDaniel, Kevin Stefanski and Robert Saleh.

Although the Ravens have not interviewed any coaches who have risen through the college ranks, Bisciotti is open to that possibility. He said a few have reached out to the team.

“So, if Eric’s interested in a college coach, he’s welcome to interview him,” Bisciotti said.

Old friend or clean slate

Harbaugh has an impressive coaching tree. Coaches he gave opportunities to are scattered throughout the NFL, and they are in positions to be considered for this job.

Schwartz, Anthony Weaver, Jesse Minter and Klint Kubiak have personal or family ties to the Ravens, with Weaver acting as Harbaugh’s assistant head coach in 2023.

DeCosta said the new coach should “continue the culture that we’ve built.” The team is not looking for someone to shake things up from the top down.

But that doesn’t mean coaches who are familiar with the Ravens should have an advantage. In fact, Bisciotti said he wants them to be “handicapped,” and he trusts DeCosta’s ability to do so.

“I would hope that Eric’s not swayed by someone who has a lot of knowledge of our organization,” Bisciotti said. “I hope they don’t take the poll position because they might be a better interview, because they have such intimate knowledge.”

Other qualities

Although Bisciotti gets final say, DeCosta is part of the group that will narrow the list to the five or so candidates who will get face-to-face time with the owner.

DeCosta said they’re looking for “the best leader we can find.” What does that mean to him?

“We want somebody who’s going to hold the players accountable,” DeCosta said. “We want somebody who’s an expert in X’s and O’s, and we want somebody who the players can relate to, but also somebody that’s going to be firm and continue the culture that we’ve built, which we think is important.”

He also emphasized the importance of communication when asked about the connection between the staff and quarterback Lamar Jackson, who will have “a lot of say but no power” in the hiring process, according to Bisciotti.

“You have to overcommunicate,” DeCosta said. “... I think, with players especially, they’re looking for feedback. They want to have a voice, but you also have to encourage the feedback and encourage the voice and work and set expectations and hold people accountable every single day. That’s what the most successful organizations do on a consistent basis, whether that’s with your star quarterback or your third-string inside linebacker. You have to set expectations, hold players accountable, foster a relationship where they love this place and love this culture and football’s the most important thing in their lives.”

Although Bisciotti and Jackson disputed claims that there were issues between Harbaugh and the star quarterback, it was clear communication was not great. Jackson’s practice and game status was uncertain throughout the season, leading to the Ravens being fined for inaccurately reporting his availability.

Jackson also is notoriously hard to reach in the offseason. Harbaugh memorably found out that Jackson asked for a trade in 2023 through social media as he sat down for a press conference.

Bisciotti said he made it clear that Jackson’s opinion matters and that, if he wants a say, he expects him to come from Florida with him to meet the finalists.

Although Bisciotti didn’t pigeonhole himself into picking a candidate from a particular group, he and his team leaders will look beyond the résumés for the winning quality that will have this team lifting the Lombardi Trophy in the next few years and provide stability so Bisciotti won’t have to go through the “hell on Earth” of searching for another coach soon.