Owings Mills, Maryland. The Baltimore Ravens have been looking for a new offensive coordinator for a long time. Ravens coach John Harbaugh and a committee led by assistant head coach Anthony Weaver polled 14 candidates over the course of four weeks.
But Baltimore’s possible hiring, Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken, first came to Harbaugh’s radar as a result of a call—of all people—from his sister.
Joanie Crean is married to Tom Crean, who coached the Georgia men’s basketball team from 2018 to 2022. During their time there, they became friends with Monken and his wife.
So when Baltimore parted ways with offensive coordinator Greg Roman last month, Joanie called Harbaugh and said, “You need to talk to Todd Monken. He’s great. He is an excellent coach. We saw what he did here in Georgia.”
Monken was unaware of Sister Harbaugh’s vote of confidence, but he believes his time in Georgia will serve him well in his new role. When asked about the pressure to fix the Ravens’ offense, Monken indicated high expectations from Georgia.
In Baltimore, he takes on the offense he struggled with last year — five touchdowns in the last six games of the regular season — and faces an uncertain future with quarterback Lamar Jackson, who is expected to take the franchise title this offseason. The Ravens finished last season averaging 20.9 points per game, their lowest in seven years.
“There is pressure everywhere,” Monken said. – This is what we do; this is what we subscribe to; this is our job. Anyone who says it doesn’t fit the territory is lying. That’s a big part of what we do, and yet that’s what drives us – the challenge of doing it better than them, because that’s what it all comes down to in the NFL.”
Monken added: “Like I always say, we get paid to score and if you don’t score, it’s not fun.”
Monken’s hiring seems like a new era of offense for Baltimore.
In four seasons with Roman, the Ravens will line up a pair of tight ends and a 300-pound quarterback to handle the ball. Roman called it “medieval”.
Looks like Monken is upgrading Baltimore’s attack. Ravens will include more balance, faster play, and more spread out patterns. On Tuesday, during a 20-minute introductory press conference, Monken used the word “space” seven times.
“It’s about being explosive,” Monken said. “Well, how do you create explosives? Well, part of it is the creation of space. So, this is probably the most important thing: “How do you find a way to include this in your crime?” I think also not to fuss, some pace [and] what does it give because [in the college game] we weren’t shy. Then it’s a little different due to signal system dynamics and then [radio communication] green dot to the quarterback. Therefore, you must work through some of them. But this is a speed bump, not an obstacle.”
In addition to his sister’s endorsement, Harbaugh was traded on the Monken for his versatility. Monken has a track record of building an attack based on the talent he has.
“[He has] not necessarily a one-system approach like, “This is our system and we fit the players to the system,” but a player-centric approach: “We are going to build the system around the players and around the identity of the team,” Harbaugh said. “I think our fans will be very excited about what we will see in the future. I know I’m delighted.”
Source: www.espn.com
