The Ravens wrapped up a big off season priority with the hiring of new Offensive Coordinator, Todd Monken. Anyone who follows the Ravens knows that their coordinator search was extensive. Head coach John Harbaugh reiterated this at the beginning of the introductory presser for Monken; mentioning the wide range of candidates, the various conversations that he had and thanking the search/interview committee.
When Monken took the podium, he spoke candidly about his previous coaching stops, his malleable offensive philosophy and certainly came off as very much a player’s coach. On paper, Monken checks all of the boxes. Also, judging by the reactions from former players and media, it seems that the sentiment regarding the Monken hire is that it was a slam dunk for the Ravens.
Having a couple of days to digest the press conference and various opinions on the hire, I couldn’t help but flashback to January 2015 and recognize some parallels to the current situation. Much like the current off season, the Ravens were on the hunt for an offensive coordinator after the unexpected departure of Gary Kubiak. The OC search in 2015 was much quicker than in 2023 and the organization landed on veteran coach Marc Trestman.
The Marc Trestman hire was almost universally praised. SB Nation’s Jason Butt said the Ravens had “struck gold” by hiring Trestman. Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com noted that Trestman was known as a “Quarterback whisperer”.
Trestman’s reputation was built on getting the most out of quarterbacks like Rich Gannon and Josh McCown. He was also part of back to back Grey Cup Championships in 2009 and 2010 for the Montreal Allouettes. At the time of his hiring, Trestman was 59 and brought a wealth of experience.
Of course, we all know that Trestman’s tenure in Baltimore was less than impressive and ended with a mid-season firing in October 2016.
Fast forward to today and Todd Monken is a veteran coach, age 57, who brings a wealth of experience to the job. He’s known for getting the most out of quarterbacks; from Jameis Winston to Ryan Fitzpatrick to Baker Mayfield. Most recently, Monken was part of back to back collegiate National Championships at the University of Georgia, where he was lauded for squeezing every drop he could of out walk on quarterback Stetson Bennett.
I don’t want to draw any conclusions in late February by any means. It’s worth saying again that Monken was very impressive in his introductory press conference and his coaching experience speaks for itself.
With that said, there are certainly some compelling similarities between Trestman and Monken. Perhaps I’m oversimplifying a complex situation but I’m certainly going to reserve judgement until we see the on field product come together. I’m hopeful for a better outcome for Monken but I will confess that my optimism is guarded at this point. Especially in the light of past experiences with a Harbaugh OC hires.
Speaking further on the offense, I think any talk of the OC, the system, potential performance, etc, is academic until the quarterback situation is settled. The Lamar Jackson dilemma has loomed over the franchise for the better part of the last 2 years and I don’t get the impression that we’re any closer to a resolution than we were at this time last off season. Quite frankly, I don’t know that the apparent impasse between Jackson and the Ravens will be broken. Of course, so much of what we’re attempting to go off of are reports based on speculation of either recycled or other vague information. Even all of Jackson’s social media posts are scrutinized in an effort to ascertain where the enigmatic quarterback stands.
At this point, the Lamar Jackson saga can be boiled down to 4 outcomes:
- Jackson signs a long term extension with the Ravens.
- Jackson is given the franchise tag, signs and plays the 2023 season for the Ravens.
- Jackson is given the franchise tag, signs it but is traded for ample compensation.
- Jackson is given the franchise tag, refuses to sign and sits out.
Scenario 4 is the least likely of them all but it is certainly a possibility. I also thought it was worth pointing out the importance of Jackson agreeing to the franchise tag in general. There’s a decent amount of the fanbase and media that believe the best path forward for the Ravens is to trade Jackson for a draft pick haul and retool. While that scenario sounds interesting on paper, as it provides salary cap flexibility and draft capital for Baltimore; it’s also dependent upon factors that are well outside of the organization’s control. Jackson would have to sign the franchise tender and the Ravens would also have to find a trade partner that is not only willing to meet the quarterback’s contract demands but also can provide the Ravens with adequate compensation. To be blunt, tag and trade sounds simple but it’s far from it.
Long story short, just about everyone that is commenting on the Ravens/Jackson saga (including this author) is grasping at straws. The organization is going to say all of the right things and compliment Lamar at every turn, so as not do anything to tarnish Lamar, which could hurt in both contract negotiations or any potential trade talks. Furthermore, we won’t get anything out of Lamar’s camp because an agent is usually the source of most reports and we all know that Jackson is sans agent. Again, most are left to overanalyze cryptic social media posts from Jackson.
At the end of the day, the Baltimore Ravens are in the midst of the most critical off season in their 27 year history and the worm can still in just about any direction.
Jamie has been a Baltimore sports fan since he can remember. He grew up in Gwynn Oak and currently resides in Hampstead with his wife and 2 kids. He graduated from UMBC with a Bachelor of Arts in History. He’s currently employed at Verizon Communications in Hunt Valley.