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Over two decades in coaching, Jesse Minter has shown there’s almost nothing an offense can do that will fluster him.

In a cross-country trek that has taken him to Cincinnati, Baltimore, Vanderbilt, Michigan and the Los Angeles Chargers, Minter has seen some of the best schemes and players in football. Again and again, he has overcome them.

Given everything he has accomplished, his climb to the coveted role of head coach of the Ravens is no fluke. On day one of his tenure, he’ll boast credibility as the man who can reshape this team’s defense into the fear-inducing unit it once was.

But that won’t be Minter’s greatest challenge. Not by a long shot.

The slate he returns to Baltimore with is hardly clean. His job carries huge expectations that he can turn the Ravens into a Super Bowl contender during the next few years of Lamar Jackson’s prime. He replaces John Harbaugh, a mentor and former boss, who is the brother of the coach he just worked for. He has drawn parallels to Mike Macdonald, the defensive genius who more than a few fans would have liked to see replace Harbaugh two years ago.

Amid all of these overlapping projections, Minter’s biggest challenge will be to be his own man.

He cannot simply be the next Harbaugh, echoing the same familiar coaching phrases that have started to feel tired in this market. He needs to shoulder past the shadow of the Coach Who Got Away, Macdonald, who may well win the Super Bowl for Seattle this year. He’ll enter a building brushing his own authority with long-entrenched front office figures he looked up to and trying to figure out how to wrangle Jackson’s enigmatic personality.

Sing your own song, Jesse. Be your own guy.

This is advice that Minter is undoubtedly hearing from many corners. This is, after all, the son of a coach. Jesse has kept his father, Rick Minter, close at hand for the last few years in L.A., and if there’s any coaching family that means more to him than John, Jim and Jack Harbaugh, it’s his own.

Minter has enough of his own verve in the film room and in the playbook to make his signature. Chargers fans are bemoaning his departure after his defense carried L.A. to back-to-back playoff appearances.

The team was the ninth-best scoring unit and the fifth best in yardage (Baltimore was 18th and 24th in these categories, respectively). He had better edge rushers than the Ravens this year but a worse overall secondary — even with injuries, Minter made his unit work.

One of the standout victories of the season was when the Chargers topped the defending champion Eagles in overtime. It wrapped up on a game-sealing interception by former Raven Tony Jefferson, who scooped Minter up in his arms in celebration. Jefferson tweeted the photo on Thursday night: “Proud of you bro! go kill it well deserved my guy.”

Players go hard for Minter, and they love that he puts them in the right spots. That’s a great start on the identity he will need to establish to succeed in Baltimore. Not necessarily a CEO, Minter will likely have his hands on the defense, trying to return it to the signature unit of the franchise.

Although the Ravens are looking for a return to the culture that has made them one of the NFL’s most consistent teams, Minter needs his own stamp. This locker room needs a refresh after the coaching messages seemingly got stale and players lost some of the drive and accountability that fueled them just two seasons ago.

There needs to be a modern spin on schemes (Minter’s offensive coordinator will play a huge role here) and perhaps a refresh in other corners of the Castle as well.

The Ravens value their principles, but they’re hoping Minter can provide a lightning bolt of energy and youth. Those qualities felt lacking over the past two seasons.

After a few months, players need to know who Minter is. No gimmicks. No tired slogans. Just him. Authenticity will be key, and given all the ghosts that Minter will encounter in the building, that might be trickier for him because he has history in Baltimore.

But he has a few things going for him. He’s faced down a division with Patrick Mahomes. He’s won an NCAA championship with Michigan. He beat out a crowded field of candidates for arguably the best job in this NFL coaching cycle.

He’s Jesse Minter — his own man. If he can take that self-assuredness with him to work every day, the battle will be half won.