OWINGS MILLS, Md., Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Dean Pees has been promoted to defensive coordinator by the Baltimore Ravens, the NFL team said Friday.
Pees, 62, was the team's linebackers coach for the last two seasons. He takes the coordinator post left vacant when Chuck Pagano was hired this week to be head coach of the Indianapolis Colts.
"It's an incredible opportunity to be a defensive coordinator in this league but it's especially humbling to be one for the Ravens," Pees said. "We've got a great group. It is a unique group, one of the most unique groups I've ever been around. They've got their own style, their own personality. It's not going to change and I'm not going to change it."
The Ravens defense, long a team hallmark, was third in the NFL in points allowed and yards allowed last season. It also recorded 48 sacks, the highest total in the AFC.
Pees was linebackers coach at New England for two seasons before serving as the Patriots' defensive coordinator from 2006-09. He's been a coach since 1979, working at several colleges, including Notre Dame and Michigan State, as a defensive assistant. He was the head coach at Kent State from 1998-2003, compiling a 17-51 record.
