Just weeks before the start of the NFL regular season, Baltimore Ravens’ offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris has passed away. The 70-year-old D’Alessandris had overseen the team’s offensive line since 2017, but had recently been hospitalized for an acute illness. The team announced his passing Sunday:
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 25, 2024
On Aug. 14, the Ravens announced that D’Alessandris would be away from the team while he battled illness, with coach John Harbaugh saying then that D’Alessandris was dealing with complications from a surgery he had earlier this summer. At that point, Baltimore brought in veteran OL coach George Warhop as interim OL coach.
D’Alessandris had been a high-level assistant coach since 1977. He had been coaching in the NFL since 2008, also working with the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills and San Diego Chargers before joining Baltimore, and had coached in the NCAA ranks (including with Georgia Tech, Duke, and Pitt), the CFL (with Memphis and Ottawa), and the World League of American Football (with the Birmingham Fire).
D’Alessandris’ wife Toni passed away from a rare form of Parkinson’s disease in May 2022. He is survived by three adult daughters and five grandchildren. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends.
About Andrew Bucholtz
Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.