Chuck Pagano Responds to Joining Ravens

After being away from the game for more than four years, Chuck Pagano returns to his old stomping grounds in a new role.
Pagano, 64, joined the Baltimore Ravens as a senior secondary coach on Tuesday night. The veteran coach previously worked with John Harbaugh and the Ravens from 2008-11, first as a secondary coach and then as defensive coordinator in his final season.
Pagano's last coaching job came as the Chicago Bears' defensive coordinator in 2019-20, and since his initial retirement, he's largely been away from football outside of his regular appearances on "The Pat McAfee Show."
As one would expect, Pagano's return to coaching is a big moment for not just him, but for his family as well.
"Four of the best years that I've ever had were in Baltimore..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 29, 2025
It's a phenomenal place and there's a lot of familiar faces" ~ @ChuckPaganoNFL #PMSLive https://t.co/V81xPzMLzr pic.twitter.com/QhvW97YDU6
"She's [his wife, Tina] fired up," Pagano said on "The Pat McAfee Show." "But now you wake up, 2:30 in the morning again and the wheels are spinning. And now I've got all this stuff to do, all this responsibility, whatever, like we gotta get things in order. She's jacked up.
"Four of the best years, again, that we had as a family were in Baltimore, that '08-'11 stretch, Pat," Pagano said. "It's just a phenomenal place, there's a lot of familiar faces for her as well, from a coaching staff perspective, wives, those kind of things. She's excited, this thing's in order here, we got everything in order, so it's not... I'm going to move out of here, Pat, and get myself a little flat, you know, hopefully close to Little Italy, we used to hang out there a lot in Baltimore. They've got some freakin' amazing spots down there, right? Get me a little spot, she'll come back and forth. You know, she's not going to be lonely, my kids will, I'm sure they're going to be moving in here pretty quick."
It's quite rare for a coach in his mid-60s to come out of retirement, but the allure of helping his old friend John Harbaugh and co. get over the hump was too much to pass up.
Chuck Pagano on coming out of retirement to join the Ravens:
— Ryan Mink (@ryanmink) January 29, 2025
“The thing that pulls you off the couch is the opportunity to win, and win it all. They’ve built a phenomenal roster. They are a wagon from top top bottom.” pic.twitter.com/NTDJArMeWq
“The thing that pulls you off the couch is the opportunity to win, and win it all," Pagano said. They’ve built a phenomenal roster. They are a wagon from top top bottom.”