RAVENS NAME TEE MARTIN NEW QB COACH, HIRE WILLIE TAGGART AS NEW RUNNING BACKS COACH
The Baltimore Ravens have named Tee Martin as the new quarterbacks’ coach and have hired Florida Atlantic head coach Willie Taggart as the team’s running backs coach, the team announced on Wednesday.
Ravens wide receiver coach Tee Martin has been with the Ravens since 2021 and will now transition to quarterbacks coach. The team didn’t comment on the position of 19-year NFL coaching veteran, James Urban, who has been the Ravens’ quarterback coach for the last five years.
Former University of Tennessee quarterback, Tee Martin, is a college football legend who spent his freshman and sophomore years in college sitting behind Peyton Manning before he led the Tennessee Volunteers to their first NCAA Division I-A national championship in 47 years during his season as a starter in 1998.
A specialist in the passing game, head coach John Harbaugh was full of praise for Martin. “I am excited for Tee to take on the responsibility of being our quarterbacks’ coach,” he said. “Tee has coached every aspect of the passing game and has played and coached the quarterback position at the highest levels. A dynamic and dedicated coach, he is a high-character individual who is uniquely qualified to build upon the foundation and success of our quarterbacks.”
Martin’s career in the pros wasn’t nearly as glamorous as his collegiate career but the former fifth-round pick would go on to play four seasons in the NFL, having stints with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Oakland Raiders. He also played in the CFL with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers before making a transition to coaching.
The Ravens also confirmed that they’ve added 24-year college coaching veteran, Willie Taggart, to their offensive staff. Taggart has held the head coaching position at five Division I programs across the country, including Western Kentucky (2010-12), South Florida (2013-16), Oregon (2017), Florida State (2018-19), and most recently Florida Atlantic (2020-22).
A former quarterback at Western Kentucky, Taggart has a lot of history with the Harbaugh family as he was once recruited by Jim Harbaugh to play for Jim’s father, Jack in college. Taggart was the starting quarterback in all of his four years at Kentucky and would go on to set 11 school records and be a finalist for the Walter Payton award, an annual honor awarded to the top offensive player in I-AA football.
Taggart and Jim would go on to have an impeccable relationship that eventually resulted in Taggart being Jim’s running back coach while the two were at Stanford (2007-09). Taggart now joins Jim’s older brother John in what is a new look offensive staff.
“We are excited to welcome Willie to the Ravens as our running backs coach,” Harbaugh said. “Willie has been a highly successful and respected college assistant and head coach. He has a proven track record for developing players as a position coach, as an offensive coordinator, and as a head coach.”
“A leader and a highly effective motivator, Willie’s reputation for building strong relationships with his players and fellow coaches will serve our offense well moving forward.”
Changes on the Ravens’ offensive staff have been expected ever since the team parted ways with Greg Roman last month and hired offensive coordinator Todd Monken a few weeks prior. The team also announced on Wednesday that they have parted ways with head strength and conditioning coach Steve Saunders. Saunders will be replaced by assistant strength and conditioning coach, Scott Elliott.
Alongside Elliott, the team will also retain Anthony Watson, Ron Shrift, and Kaelyn Buskey on the strength and conditioning staff, the Ravens confirmed on their official website.
“I want to thank Steve for his effort, expertise, and contributions to our Ravens over the past seven years,” said Harbaugh. “He is one of the finest strength and conditioning coaches in the business. His methods, passion, and commitment are well-proven throughout his career. Steve helped our players be the strongest and best-conditioned athletes they could be. He is an outstanding coach, father, husband, and friend. We wish him and his family all the very best going forward with their pursuits.”
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Maryland Gov Pics. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.