Chuck Pagano has been back on the Ravens’ coaching staff for just over four months. He’s spent even less time around their roster. But when players have approached the Ravens’ new senior secondary coach this offseason, asking where they need to improve, it’s as if Pagano’s spent the past year in Owings Mills.

“He had an answer for every single one of those guys,” defensive coordinator Zach Orr recalled Thursday, after the Ravens’ third open practice of organized team activities. “A deep, detailed summary.”

Pagano’s Ravens ties are deep. He was the secondary coach on John Harbaugh’s first staff in 2008 before being promoted to defensive coordinator in 2011, and he marveled at the franchise’s consistency over the years, from the front office to the cafeteria.

In his return to Baltimore, the 64-year-old Pagano will have plenty to work with on the field, too. Safety Kyle Hamilton and cornerback Marlon Humphrey are Pro Bowl talents. Nate Wiggins has developed into one of the NFL’s most impressive young cornerbacks. Malaki Starks was the first safety taken in this year’s draft.

The Ravens again have Super Bowl aspirations, and Orr said Pagano has embraced his return to coaching with “real juice.” Pagano said he has no interest in serving as a head coach again — he went 56-46 from 2012 to 2017 with the Indianapolis Colts, making three playoff appearances — and called the job in Baltimore “probably the only opportunity that would get me off the couch.”

“I was playing golf and working out and playing with my grandkids, and life was pretty good,” said Pagano, who last served as the Chicago Bears’ defensive coordinator in 2020. “A lot of my friends back home were like, ‘Are you out of your mind? Why would you go back to the grind?’ You can’t replicate [being with an NFL team]. You can’t replicate the grind. It’s hard to fill your days. My day was usually ... I was done with the workout, honey-dos, chores, and it’s 10 o’clock in the morning and I’m like, ‘I can’t start drinking.’ I wait until a certain time to start that. But it is hard to fill your days. It was, like I said, an opportunity of a lifetime and probably the only place that could get me to come back.”

End zone

• Former NFL head coach Jon Gruden was in attendance for Thursday’s practice. He greeted several Ravens staffers and players, including running back Derrick Henry, and watched part of one practice period with Harbaugh.
• Quarterback Lamar Jackson missed his second straight OTA. Also missing from Thursday’s voluntary practice were wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, rookie offensive lineman Emery Jones Jr. (shoulder), defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike, outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy, inside linebacker Jake Hummel, and safeties Ar’Darius Washington (Achilles tendon) and Hamilton. The Ravens will hold another open practice Friday and their four final OTAs next week.
• Ravens officials have voiced optimism about third-string quarterback Devin Leary’s room for growth this offseason, but he’s still finding his way in OTAs. He connected with wide receiver Anthony Miller on an out-breaking route in 11-on-11 work, but Miller seemed to express frustration that the ball required a diving catch and was thrown late. Later, in red-zone work, Leary underthrew wide receiver Tylan Wallace, who was running to an open corner of the end zone. Undrafted rookie cornerback Reuben Lowery undercut the pass, bobbled the ball to himself and secured an impressive interception.
• Cornerback Marlon Humphrey had a couple of would-be tackles for loss on outside runs, first against wide receiver Zay Flowers and then against running back Justice Hill. Safety Sanoussi Kane also had a diving breakup of a pass to tight end Mark Andrews.
• After a quiet showing Tuesday, wide receiver Devontez Walker rebounded Thursday, getting open over the middle for two solid gains. With no defensive backs nearby on his first catch, the 2024 fourth-round pick turned on the jets for what would’ve been a nice catch-and-run opportunity.
• With sixth-round pick Tyler Loop not kicking, undrafted rookie John Hoyland again took center stage. He went 3-for-6, missing three long-range kicks (49, 51 and 56 yards) before converting on his final three attempts (39, 42 and 46 yards).
• Orr said inside linebacker Trenton Simpson, who lost his starting job midway through last season, is “a lot more confident” entering Year 3. “This is the most confident that I’ve seen Trenton, and he’s a lot more relaxed before the play. I hear him talking. This is the most I’ve heard him communicate on the field, so I’m excited. … He’s actually turning into one of our most vocal guys, so the only way we say you can be confident in speaking is if you’re confident in knowing what you’re doing.”
• Jalyn Armour-Davis, who’s struggled to crack the cornerback rotation over his three injury-marred seasons in Baltimore, lined up at safety for some snaps Thursday, part of an offseason experiment that Orr said the Ravens will put other cornerbacks through. “You want to play with the best five [defensive backs]. You don’t want to limit yourself or a player just because, ‘Well, he’s only a corner, so even though he might be better than a safety, we can’t play him because he’s only a corner.’ So we force our guys to learn everything, and then we start throwing them out there to see if they can pick it up and execute at a high level.”