Ravens OL Coach Joe D'Alessandris Dies at 70; Spent 45 Years in NFL, NCAA, More

The Baltimore Ravens announced that offensive line coach Joe D'Alessandris died on Sunday morning after being hospitalized due to complications from surgery earlier this summer.

He was 70.

D'Alessandris had spent eight seasons with the Ravens as offensive line coach, helping five different players—Marshal Yanda, Ronnie Stanley, Orlando Brown Jr., Tyler Linderbaum and Kevin Zeitler—reach the Pro Bowl.

D'Alessandris also served as the offensive line coach for the Buffalo Bills (2010-12) and San Diego Chargers (2013-15) in his coaching career. Prior to his NFL career, he had coaching stints with Western Carolina, Livingston, Memphis, Chattanooga, Samford, Texas A&M, Pittsburgh, Duke and Georgia Tech at the college level.

A number of people from the NFL community paid tribute to D'Alessandris on Sunday:

Earlier in August, the Ravens announced that George Warhop would lead the offensive line while D'Alessandris was recovering from his acute illness.

"It's a big blow because he's a great football coach, he's beloved by the players [and] he's a top game-planner," head coach John Harbaugh told reporters at the time regarding D'Alessandris' illness and hospitalization. "He's a huge part of our offense. He's going to be missed very much. But we're going to be much more concerned about his health."

On Sunday, Harbaugh called D'Alessandris a "man of integrity and a man of faith."

"He made us all better," he added in his statement. "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. [His late wife] Toni has him back now. May God bless 'Joe D.' forever."