Ravens O-Line Coach Takes Charge After Tragedy

The Baltimore Ravens were fortunate to find a capable offensive line coach in their hour of need.

Jaguars offensive line coach George Warhop wears a mask as he instructs his players. The Jacksonville Jaguars training camp session, Wednesday, July 28, 2021, at the team's practice fields outside TIAA Bank Field. [Bob Self/Florida Times-Union] Jki 072821 Jagstrainingcam 5 / Bob Self / USA TODAY NETWORK

Baltimore Ravens offensive line coach George Warhop didn't expect his return to the NFL to be like this.

Warhop, who last worked with the Houston Texans in 2022, takes over for the late Joe D'Alessandris, who tragically died on Aug. 25 after being hospitalized with an acute illness. That alone is a tough situation to come into, doubly so since it happened just weeks before the regular season.

The 62-year-old Warhop stepped up in the Ravens' hour of need, and is now a guiding light after the tragic loss of D'Alessandris.

"First and foremost, the situation was tragic," Warhop told reporters Thursday. "Joe and I were both in the World [Football] League together. I'm not saying we were close friends, but we were very good acquaintances. If he had a question, he'd call me, and I'd call him back. If I had a question, I would call him, and he would call me back. What happened here was tragic.

"The fact that John [Harbaugh] trusted me enough to call me, I'm impressed with that and grateful for that. But the situation that I walked into with what Joe had done here made it very easy. The group is well trained, they're very smart, they work their tails off, it's important to them, and that's what he did before I got here. That's what he built as a foundation. The whole deal is tough, we're just trying to make the best of it."

With so little time to work with, Warhop leaned on the foundation D'Alessandris set, as well as his fellow coaches, to get ready for the season opener last week.

"I just said, 'Listen, I don't know what you guys are doing exactly. I'm just going to listen as much as I can from a schematic standpoint. From a technique standpoint, I'm going to ask you do some different stuff,'" Warhop said. "And that's pretty much how we approached it."

On the field, the offensive line had its ups and downs last week, but that can improve with time. Off the field, players are still grieving while giving it their all every day, and Warhop is there to help them through this difficult process.

"When you come in, you have to get guys ready to play, and the deal is that you have to win games," Warhop said. "In my opinion, for us to have a chance to win games, we have to be exceptional up front. We have to play hard; we have to play physical; we have to play smart. That's that part of it.

"The grief part of it, [for] anybody that's dealt with death – I've dealt with it in my family – everybody grieves differently. You just have to make yourself available to them when they're grieving. I've made myself available to them if they need to call me. If they're certain guys that struggle, I'll reach out to them. But grief is different for every person that's dealing with it."

Make sure you bookmark Baltimore Ravens on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

• Ravens Rookie Suffers Neck Injury Ahead of Raiders Game
• Ravens LB Impresses in First Career Start
• Ravens Avoid Lamar Jackson Injury Concern
• Travis Kelce Praises Ravens' Lamar Jackson, Isaiah Likely
• Lamar Jackson Missing Practice a Cautionary Tale for Ravens