After nearly a month-long interview process that included 14 candidates, head coach John Harbaugh and the Ravens have found the man to replace Greg Roman as offensive coordinator.
On Tuesday, Baltimore announced the hiring of University of Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who guided the Bulldogs offense to back-to-back national championships the last two seasons. Prior to his three years working under head coach Kirby Smart in Athens, the 57-year-old Monken coached in the NFL as Cleveland’s offensive coordinator in 2019 and the Tampa Bay offensive coordinator from 2016-18. He was also the head coach at Southern Miss from 2013-15 and served as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ wide receivers coach from 2007-10.
In a statement released by the team, Harbaugh said a total of 21 interviews were conducted in “a thorough process that had wide-ranging organizational involvement.” Roman and the Ravens announced his departure four days after the season-ending playoff loss in Cincinnati on Jan. 15.
“Todd’s leadership and coaching acumen were evident from the beginning,” said Harbaugh, who is now appointing the seventh offensive coordinator of his 16-year tenure in Baltimore. “He has a proven track record for designing and teaching offensive systems that allow players to succeed at the highest level. We’re excited to get to work and begin building an offense that will help us compete for championships.”
At first glance, Monken’s offenses at Georgia will sound familiar to Ravens fans as he featured the running game and tight ends prominently with former walk-on Stetson Bennett at quarterback, but the veteran coach also guided Tampa Bay passing attacks that ranked 11th or better in DVOA in three seasons and featured Jameis Winston and Ryan Fitpatrick at quarterback as well as multi-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Mike Evans. Such wide-ranging success without a star quarterback had to be appealing to the Ravens, regardless of what happens with the future of 2019 NFL MVP Lamar Jackson.
And while the Browns offense struggled in 2019, Monken didn’t call the plays and reportedly wasn’t on the same page with former head coach and play-caller Freddie Kitchens. In the process of going 6-10 that season, Cleveland still featured two 1,000-yard wide receivers in Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr., further reinforcing Monken’s ability to adapt to different personnel strengths.
Considering last month’s proclamation that “we’re going to always believe in running the ball,” Harbaugh hiring Monken in the wake of showing such impressive run-pass balance and tight end production at Georgia isn’t surprising, especially when recognizing the current roster’s strengths at tight end and running back. This also marks the second straight year that the Ravens have gone to the college level to hire a coordinator, but it’s fair to note defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald spent only one season at the University of Michigan after serving as a Ravens assistant for several seasons. There are no clear ties between Harbaugh and Monken, but his play-calling experience in the NFL is another plus.
While the Ravens will express excitement about Monken’s arrival after his outstanding run at Georgia, the long-term status of Jackson as well as general manager Eric DeCosta upgrading at wide receiver continue to sit atop the list of offseason priorities for an offense that regressed under Roman after the record-breaking 2019 campaign. The question now becomes whether Monken will be tasked with helping Jackson take his impressive game to new heights or overseeing an offense that could look dramatically different if the Ravens can’t strike a deal with their franchise quarterback.
