Dean Pees says he was offered a contract extension from the Ravens

Dean Pees’ retirement lasted all of a month before he signed on as the defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans, joining new head coach Mike Vrabel's staff. The main reason why Pees decided to end his retirement early was due to the familiarity he has with Vrabel, dating back to their days in New England. However, some questions were raised if Pees was forced to retire by the Baltimore Ravens, the team he spent the last eight years with.

Pees spoke to the media on Wednesday and not only did he confirm this speculation was false, but apparently the complete opposite of the narrative. Ravens’ head coach John Harbaugh was ready to give him a contract extension to bring him back. Pees stated:

"I was offered by John to come back—an extension on my contract -so I wasn't forced to retire. I want to be very clear, my eight years in Baltimore were fantastic. They could not have treated me any better. I loved working for John Harbaugh."

Pees, I'm sure, has been waiting a while to get the rumors of the Ravens forcing him to retire out of the way and he did it on his own accord. The Ravens have proven to be an organization that won't put coaches through that kind of situation. Pees even said he wondered himself if he did the right thing by retiring. Of course, that didn't end up being the topic that raises eyebrows.

Pees brought up Harbaugh offered him a contract extension to come back and continue being the defensive coordinator for a seventh season. His defense's were good, but despite the talent level given, always under-performed when it mattered the most. After six years of the same old song and dance with Pees, along with the 4th-and-12 debacle just two months ago, Harbaugh and the Ravens were still willing to bring him back.

It proves once again the kind of loyalty Harbaugh had towards Pees, even after 18 4th-quarter leads were blown during his reign as defensive coordinator. Who knows how Don Martindale performs as the new defensive coordinator after his last job in Denver eight years ago was an unmitigated disaster as the Broncos were the worst defense in the NFL in 2010. Still, you just wonder why Harbaugh would even think about bringing back a coordinator who has shown time and time again to falter when it mattered? Especially entering a 2018 season that will most likely be his last chance to right the ship. The Ravens loyalty to Pees came very close to striking yet again.