What’s old is new again for the Ravens. Chuck Pagano is returning to Baltimore.

Nearly two decades after being hired as part of coach John Harbaugh’s first staff and more than a dozen years after serving as the Ravens’ defensive coordinator for one season, the longtime assistant is coming out of retirement and rejoining Baltimore as a senior secondary coach.

A day after the Ravens announced the hire, Pagano said on Wednesday’s edition of the “The Pat MacAfee Show,” of which he has been a contributor since 2022, that he’d been thinking about returning to coaching since “the day I retired.”

“I’ve always thought about it,” Pagano, 64, said. “It’s always been in the back of my mind. It just had to be the perfect situation. Obviously I’m very, very familiar with that organization. That had a ton to do with it. The role is absolutely perfect. I’m not really dying to be a head coach again and have all that responsibility, a coordinator, and all the pressure that comes with that.

“They’ve got a great staff over there, so the role is important.”

In a statement announcing the move on Tuesday night, Harbaugh said Pagano “will continue to develop and grow our young and talented secondary.”

“Chuck brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and coaching talent to our team,” Harbaugh said. “He has deep ties to the program and is excited to get to work.”

The move continues a shake-up on the coaching staff. Chris Hewitt, Baltimore’s pass game coordinator and an assistant head coach, will not return, a source with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Baltimore Sun on Wednesday. Doug Mallory, who joined the Ravens in 2024, remains the secondary coach under second-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr.Pagano did provide at least some clarity on what his role will be.

“They have secondary coaches right now,” he said. “I get an opportunity to fill a role on the back end.”

What that looks like, of course, remains to be seen, but he added that he’s excited about the opportunity to “contribute” and “build” on the Ravens’ existing defense.

Pagano’s most recent coaching job was as defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears, where he spent two seasons on coach Matt Nagy’s staff in 2019 and 2020 before retiring. Before that, he was the coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2012 to 2017, though his debut season was interrupted as he underwent treatment for leukemia.

In his first season in Chicago, the Bears’ defense led the NFC in points allowed per game (18.6) and ranked second in the conference in yards allowed per game (324.1). In Indianapolis, he had a 53-43 record in the regular season, a 3-3 mark in the postseason and led the Colts to two division titles and the 2014 AFC championship game.

Pagano, who spent one season as the Ravens’ defensive coordinator in 2011, is the second former assistant to rejoin Harbaugh’s staff in recent months after 75-year-old former defensive coordinator Dean Pees was hired as a senior adviser five games into the 2024 season.

The Ravens’ defense struggled early in the year, particularly against the pass.

In Baltimore’s first five games this past season, the defense allowed an average of 447.6 yards and 25.2 points per game. And through the first 10 games, the Ravens allowed the most passing yards per game in the NFL while ranking 27th in total yards and 26th in scoring.

Over the final eight games of the regular season, with the Pees more heavily involved, Baltimore was first in the league in each category.

Other changes helped, too.

Safety Ar’Darius Washington took over for struggling veteran Marcus Williams, while fellow safety Kyle Hamilton was more often deployed on the deep end of the field. Cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey and Nate Wiggins were also significant contributors while struggling second-year inside linebacker Trenton Simpson was benched in favor of the more experienced combination of Malik Harrison on running downs and Chris Board on passing plays.

The Ravens finished the regular season ranked eighth in both points allowed per game (21.2) and yards allowed per game (319.2). With most of their players returning next season, they should again have one of the league’s top defenses.

Still, Harbaugh was looking to improve things.

He and Pagano have remained close over the years, talking and texting regularly. Pagano said that last week he texted Harbaugh the name of a coach to consider adding to the defensive staff.

That led to a phone call on Friday about the potential candidate, during which Harbaugh asked his longtime friend and former defensive coordinator if he had the “itch” to return to coaching. A lengthy Zoom call followed on Tuesday and then the offer.

“It came out of nowhere, really,” Pagano said. “I’m very grateful John would give me this opportunity.”

With Baltimore a perennial playoff team and a Super Bowl contender, there was plenty of appeal for Pagano to accept it.

“The last thing [that] will pull you off the couch is the opportunity to win and win it all,” he said. “They’ve built a phenomenal roster, as we know. They are a wagon from top to bottom.

“This opportunity was too good to pass up.”

Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/BrianWacker1.