RAVENS & OC GREG ROMAN PART WAYS AS THE TEAM SETS SIGHT ON NEW OFFENSE
Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman has stepped down from his position, the team announced on Thursday morning.
The Ravens and Roman are parting ways after four years together, three of which Roman helped guide the team to playoff appearances. Roman had one more year on his contract with the Ravens, which was a team option, and said he is leaving the organization to pursue other opportunities.
A statement from Roman via his agency, Athletes First, read: “After visiting with Coach [John] Harbaugh and after huddling with my family, I have decided that now is the right time to move on from the Ravens so that I can explore new challenges and opportunities.”
Roman went on to say, “My family would like to thank Steve Bisciotti for the opportunity to be a part of this elite organization and for being the first-class leader that he is. I would also like to thank John Harbaugh, who I respect as much as any head coach I have worked alongside. I learned a lot working for John and will carry those lessons forward. I also watched our management team – Dick [Cass], Sashi [Brown], Ozzie [Newsome], Eric [DeCosta], and many others – run a sports franchise as smoothly and as well as one can be run, and I appreciate them allowing us to always remain focused on winning.”
One of the more productive coordinators in the league with both the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens, Roman guided the Ravens to a league-best average of 33.8 points per game in his first season as the team’s offensive coordinator and helped the team clinch the number one seed in the AFC.
The past two seasons for Roman have not been as rosy as his start in Baltimore though, as the Ravens have struggled to score points and win games, putting up an average of just 12.4 points per contest in the team’s last five games to end the 2022 regular season.
The team failed to score more than 17 points in that time span. Part of Roman’s Achilles heel was the inability to put together a dynamic passing game to marry with the explosive run game, and his questionable play calling in the red zone. The team ranked 30th in the league in red zone offense in 2022 and struggled to consistently put touchdowns on the board.
Ravens star running back JK Dobbins scored the Ravens’ first touchdown of the game against the Bengals during Super Wild Card Weekend and was frustrated by his lack of touches in the red zone during the game.
“I’m a guy that feels like if I’m on the field all the time, then I can help this team win,” said Dobbins. “And it’s the playoffs, why I’m I not out there?… I’m a playmaker. I’m a guy that my teammates feed off me when I’m on the field. I should be out there all the time, but it’s just not the case of how it goes here.” The Ravens were 1-of-4 inside the 20-yard line against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
With many convinced that Roman’s time in Baltimore had run its course, the 50-year-old has had a tough time of it in recent times in Baltimore. It was only last month that someone left handwritten flyers that read “Fire Greg Roman” scattered just outside the entrance of the Ravens’ facility. Just two weeks prior to that, a video was posted on Twitter in which fans were shouting obscenities at Roman while he walked from the M & T Bank Stadium to his car after the game. “Get the f— out of here, Greg,” one fan shouted.
“Greg has led the development and success of a record-setting offense in Baltimore for several seasons,” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said in a statement. “He is a tremendous football coach, as well as a family man and person. Greg devised and led our offense to no fewer than 26 historical NFL and franchise achievements. He established an identity for our offense. We are grateful for Greg’s great work and abilities, and we wish him and his wonderful family the utmost happiness going forward.”
Known for building a dynamic run game with his teams, Roman guided the Ravens to more than a few broken records in the league during his time in Baltimore. The team recorded the most consecutive games with 100+ rushing yards (43), the most rushing yards by a team in a season (3,216), the most rushing yards by a quarterback in a season (1,206), and the most games in a season with over 200 yards rushing (6).
Roman’s offense was also the first in NFL history to have three 700-yard rushers in consecutive seasons (2019-20) and is still the only offense ever to average over 200 yards rushing and 200 yards passing in a season (206.0 rushing and 201.6 yards passing in 2019).
Roman is also credited with taking Lamar Jackson to the highest of heights in his first year in Baltimore, guiding the Ravens to a 14-2 finish in 2019, a season that ended with Lamar Jackson leading the league in passing touchdowns and winning the league’s regular season MVP award unanimously. Jackson will be involved in the offensive coordinator hire, General Manager Eric DeCosta and head coach John Harbaugh said during Thursday’s end-of-season press conference.
“Lamar Jackson is our quarterback,” Harbaugh said. “He’s been our quarterback. Everything we’ve done in terms of building our offense and building our team, how we think in terms of putting people around him is based around this incredible young man, his talent and his ability, and his competitiveness… The thing about Lamar that, to me, stands out [is] he’s an incredible competitor. I mean, Lamar Jackson, all he wants to do is win.”
With Roman now gone, head coach John Harbaugh will look for his seventh offensive coordinator in his career. The 60-year-old has worked with Cam Cameron, Jim Caldwell, Gary Kubiak, Marc Trestman, Marty Mornhinweg, and Greg Roman.
Amongst the candidates that could be up for the job up in Baltimore are San Francisco 49ers passing game coordinator Bobby Slowik, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback coach Bryan Johnson, Oklahoma State University offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby who had a lot of success at Ole Miss and has been tied to the University of Alabama, former Michigan and Alabama assistant coach and the current University of Miami offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, the Ravens’ wide receiver coach Tee Martin, or a currently available and recently employed head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, Frank Reich.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.