Josh Tolentino: Ravens coach Jesse Minter is the real deal. Zay Flowers says so.

BALTIMORE — Zay Flowers has made himself pretty easy to spot around Baltimore this offseason.

The Ravens’ No. 1 wide receiver has attended all three voluntary organized team activity practices open to the media. Flowers made an on-field appearance at Orioles opening day at Camden Yards. He also surprised a local wedding full of Ravens fans as part of the team’s schedule release announcement. With each public stop, Flowers has been close enough to hear the pressing questions following the team.

Fans are particularly interested in what the Ravens feel and look like now in the post-John Harbaugh era. They want reads on first-year coach Jesse Minter, on first-year offensive coordinator Declan Doyle and on the early shape of a new operation underway in Owings Mills.

“I think the fans are just as excited as us,” Flowers said Tuesday. “Anytime I get to get out in the community and do stuff, I’m going to always take the opportunity, whether for kids or events, it doesn’t matter what it is. The fans, every time somebody sees me, they’re like, ‘Yo, how is the head coach? How is the offensive coordinator?’ And it’s nothing but good things. Everybody’s excited.

“The whole city’s excited.”

That level of excitement followed Flowers back to the Castle, where the Ravens’ final OTA practice open to the media Tuesday looked and sounded different from the two earlier sessions open only to reporters.

The team allowed several hundred fans to attend, and their presence brought a different energy to the practice. A group of children called out players by name during the stretching period, with the kids more than happy to receive any sort of acknowledgement from their role models. A few completions from quarterback and two-time NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson to tight end Mark Andrews and Flowers drew applause during full-team sessions.

The Ravens opened the garage door for the afternoon, and part of their fan base got to see the early work up close before the machine eventually becomes totally operable under Minter. The systems are still being installed, roles are still being shaped and the new staff is still teaching its language.

Flowers, who has 3,128 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns over his three seasons, stands near the center of that grind. He is one of the team’s most visible players, and the Ravens recently reinforced his place in their future by exercising the fifth-year option on his rookie contract.

General manager Eric DeCosta has said he wants to get an extension done with Flowers. The 2023 first-round draft pick said the feeling is mutual, even if he plans to leave the business side to his representation.

“It’s a great feeling because I want to be here,” Flowers said. “I would love to finish my career here and be here the rest of my career.”

The questions he keeps hearing from curious fans, of course, come after the team’s disappointing 8-9 finish with no playoff appearance last season.

Depending on your feelings about these new-look Ravens, that record casts a dark shadow over all this early optimism. When fans ask Flowers specifically about Minter and Doyle, they might be attempting to generate small talk with one of their favorite pro athletes in the city. But they are also wondering whether the change feels real.

How does Anthony Weaver describe the new head coach’s style, especially given the duo’s working environment, given Minter is expected to call defensive plays on game day?

“He’s a cool customer,” the defensive coordinator said of Minter. “He is very detailed in his approach to both teaching the team, talking to us as coaches. Never flustered, which I appreciate. Obviously, your team and your staff is going to reflect how you act, so I expect us to be very cool, calm and collected regardless of the situation and be at our best.

“Jesse, he’s easy. He’s very personable. He listens. He’s not one of those guys that’s constantly barking orders. He has his ideas and how he wants it to look, but he’s always looking for information to try to make it as best as we possibly can. So he’s been great. It’s been super collaborative. I feel super blessed every day I walk into the building.”

That answer should encourage fans. Minter, 43, is replacing the longest-tenured coach in franchise history, and while the Ravens are still early in this transition, the way Weaver describes Minter suggests the day-to-day operation is being built heavily on details.

There is a fine line here. A first-year coach has to be collaborative without seeming unsure, and he has to listen without appearing passive. The early reviews suggest Minter understands that important line.

Special teams coordinator Anthony Levine Sr., 39, a former Ravens player who is aware of the standard around the franchise, noted Minter has made his presence felt in his room, too.

“Jesse has been doing a great job,” Levine said. “We have our coaching meetings, and just how he is in there with us, he’s coaching us up, as well. He’s always in the special teams meetings. He always gives me great feedback on things that I can do. Out there on the field, he’s helping. With the coaches, he’s always there to help because he’s been there already, so he’s always pushing forward, and he’s always helping us.”

That is another early sign Ravens fans should take seriously. Minter’s defensive background is obvious, but the rookie coach is seemingly dedicating his time toward all parts of the building. If he is sitting in special teams meetings and coaching his staff as much as his players, that points to a coach attempting to leave his fingerprints in all spaces.

So what about Doyle?

That is the other name Flowers keeps hearing around town. Fans are desperate to know what the offense looks like under the first-time play caller. The Ravens have a strong running foundation and possess plenty of star power. Doyle, 30, inherits Jackson, Flowers, future Hall of Fame running back Derrick Henry, tight end Mark Andrews, a handful of rookie pass catchers and first-round pick and offensive lineman Vega Ioane.

“Coach Dec has the same mentality as us,” Flowers said. “He isn’t playing, but he is a dog. You just get that vibe from him. He’s just ready to go. He is ready to dial it up. He wants the offense to be the best offense in the league, and that’s how he coaches it.

“Declan Doyle is a genius. He has stuff that I’ve never seen, plays and routes and stuff to help you get open. He teaches you in a certain way where you remember the plays where there’s not too much stress on you. But he gives you a lot, and he talks fast, too. I’m like, ‘Hey, Coach, chill, chill.’ He is a genius, though. I love it. We’ve been loving it so far.”

There is a lot packed inside that scouting report. Mandatory minicamp later this month and training camp in July will only add more layers to Minter and Doyle’s operation.

At the conclusion of practice, Flowers arrived at his scheduled news conference wearing only white socks because he had given his cleats to a young fan, who gifted the receiver with a bag of Sour Patch Kids and wrote him a letter on the back of the package.

The Ravens are still discovering their identity as the franchise embarks on the Minter era. On Tuesday, a few hundred fans got a little closer to the team Flowers says the whole city is already asking about. One young fan got closer than most.

“His name was Zay, too, and I just gave him my cleats,” Flowers said with a smile. “They were my good luck cleats, too. So, I was like, ‘You can have them.’ ”