Baltimore Ravin’: Farewell to Kevin Byrne

Kevin Byrne (right) has had the ear of Ravens coaches, players and staffers — like current head coach John Harbaugh — since the team landed in Baltimore in 1996.Courtesy of Baltimore Ravens

On his desk at Baltimore Ravens headquarters in Owings Mills, Md., Chad Steele keeps a 94-page binder of notes from meetings with his boss of 18 years, Executive Vice President Kevin Byrne. Among the artifacts are records of how Byrne handled various dilemmas, bits of his general advice and strategies for future scenarios.

Steele, the team’s senior vice president of communications, also keeps a copy in his backpack and saved digitally on his smartphone, just to make sure he’s never without the advice of the man he is succeeding.

Ravens President Dick Cass has long depended on Byrne for a different reason. “On a Monday after a tough loss, I would visit his office and try to get cheered up,” Cass said. “Kevin would give me a joke and tell me an Al McGuire story, and if that didn’t work, he’d give me a funny story about Art Modell and that would make me laugh.”

The whole team is now learning to live without Byrne’s expertise, humor and perspective. After a four-decade career in NFL public relations that began after his tenure as the sports information director at Marquette, his alma mater, Byrne retired on May 1. He is remaining as a consultant through the end of the 2020 season, and will be leaving a league that bears little resemblance to the one he joined in 1977 as a publicist for the St. Louis Cardinals.

In those days, publicists left for road trips early to help the home team sell tickets. In his final years, Byrne oversaw a staff of nine and had to keep pace with a 24-hour news cycle, where the NFL is the biggest show on earth and every fan has a camera and the means to publish.

Known around the league for his quick smile, patience and knack for getting recalcitrant coaches to speak to reporters, Byrne has experienced both the pinnacle of the sport — the Ravens have won two Super Bowls — and one of the darkest chapters in league history, when the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore in 1996.

“I don’t know if there’s many situations he hasn’t seen,” Steele said.

Byrne’s role as Modell’s right-hand man in Cleveland left its scars. Born and raised in the Cleveland area, he says there are still “cousins that won’t speak to me” after the tumultuous relocation battle. The offer to leave with Modell and start fresh in Baltimore was not an easy choice. But ultimately, he wanted to stay in sports and get the new franchise started well.

“I also felt Art Modell got the short end of the stick in Cleveland,” Byrne said. “I think history has shown that, and I feel badly that I didn’t do a good enough job telling the story.”

Byrne regrets not getting in front of the growing financial and political crisis Modell faced before the move. But Byrne had to turn his attention to a new project: launching the Ravens in a market that had lost the Colts to Indianapolis 12 years before and still considered that owner a villain in town.

Desperate to convince regional media that Modell “was not another Bob Irsay,” Byrne helped Modell to flood the media with appearances, taking all questions. They didn’t stop with reporters; they met with anchors, presidents and general managers of media outlets from Annapolis to York, Pa.

Byrne’s biggest success was enlisting retired Baltimore Colts players who still lived in the area as supporters. Many agreed, but Johnny Unitas held out until he met with Modell personally. Unitas agreed to deliver the game ball in an old Colts jersey before the team’s first game, on Sept. 1, 1996.

That day, Byrne recalls, 58 Colts alumni were introduced on the field before the game in white windbreakers that said “Baltimore Colts alumni.” After they were introduced, they turned the jackets inside out to display “Baltimore Ravens” on the back and “NFL Alumni” on the front.

“It was almost like they were saying to the fans, it’s OK to root for these guys,” Byrne said. Since then, the Ravens have maintained those historic ties, including Colts retirees in their community events and marking Colts records and stars around the stadium and online.

In the ensuing 24 years, the entire NFL thrived, and Byrne’s status grew throughout the league. He was frequently asked by league officials to share his expertise with the other 31 teams, and was usually on hand at the Super Bowl.

Former NFL PR chief Joe Browne said Byrne’s deft touch was in high demand at the title game. “If he were handling a sensitive matter with an upset newspaper columnist, we knew Kevin would help resolve the problem, not add to it,” said Browne.

Byrne first started working with NFL media in 1977.getty images

The job of public relations in the NFL has turned completely around, Byrne said. In 1977, it was simple publicity — telling the world about the team. Today, that part takes care of itself. Now the hard part is selling the team itself on publicity — to convince close-to-the-vest coaches and players to talk to the media.

Byrne’s tools are patience and bluntness. Sometimes he does it by teaching the business of football to the players and coaches — why their media availability helps drive suite sales, or sponsor value. Sometimes, he personalizes it.

“I say, do you know how much money you’re making as our coordinator?” Byrne said. “And then I say, ‘and here’s why you make that much, because others before you opened the door.’ I try not to do it by confrontation, but just by explaining this is needed.”

Byrne’s even blood pressure, win or lose, is one reason why everyone sought his counsel, Cass said. Now 70, Byrne wanted to retire as soon as the 2019 season ended, but he was so important Cass convinced him to stay around for a few more months in a limited fashion.

“He knows the sun will rise again tomorrow, and whatever seemed so bad today won’t seem so bad tomorrow,” Cass said. “And a week later it won’t seem so bad at all, and that kind of perspective is really important in the NFL.”