Joe D’Alessandris is irreplaceable. The Ravens said on Sunday that the longtime offensive line coach died earlier that morning at the age of 70. He had been hospitalized earlier this month with what the team said was an acute illness related to an earlier surgery.
Certain people associated with the Ravens can’t be replaced. One was late owner Art Modell. Another is Ozzie Newsome.
D’Alessandris is on that list. He didn’t impact the NFL the way Modell or Newsome did. Rather, D’Alessandris was just an honorable, hard-working man who was liked by everyone within the organization.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh probably summed it up best in a statement released by the team Sunday. “Coach ‘Joe D.’ was a man of integrity and a man of faith,” he said.
“He made us all better. He was our reader at team mass, and he was loved by all here. He was a great coach and a good man — the kind of person who you are honored to have as a friend.
“He raised three incredible, beautiful daughters, and he was a most loving husband. His grandkids also adored him. I admired him, loved him and am going to miss him, because ‘Joe D.
’ was a joy.” In some ways, D’Alessandris reminded me of former and late Ravens coach Ted Marchibroda, who died in 2016 after coaching in the NFL for 37 years. Regardless if you interviewed Marchibroda at 6 a.
m. at the team hotel at McDaniel College or late at night on the phone, both D’Alessandris and Marchibroda always had stories to tell. Having .