BALTIMORE — It began with a call from John Harbaugh’s sister, Joani.
“You’ve got to talk to Todd Monken,” she told her brother, who was on the hunt for an offensive coordinator after the Ravens parted ways with Greg Roman.
She and her husband, Tom Crean, had bonded with Monken and his wife, Terri, when Crean was coaching basketball at Georgia, the same place where Monken designed national championship-winning offenses in 2021 and 2022.
Harbaugh listened, and through 21 interviews with 14 candidates, his mind remained fixed on Monken. “How extensive his knowledge is, how broad his knowledge is, how adaptable he is, how versatile he is,” Harbaugh said Tuesday when he introduced Monken, who was hired last week, as the team’s next offensive coordinator. “You talk to different people around Todd, players especially but also coaches, he’s just got a great way with players. … I know our players are going to love him.”
Monken did not have to leave Georgia, where he was one of the best — and best compensated — assistant coaches in the country. But he wanted another shot at the NFL after his previous tenures as offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cleveland Browns ended on someone else’s terms. And he wanted that shot to be with a winning organization led by a secure head coach, the same conditions under which he thrived at Georgia.
“I think first, it was the challenge, to do it against the best in the world,” Monken said. “I think everybody aspires to have that challenge. And if I was going to do it, it was going to be somewhere that was parallel to Georgia.”
Questions turned quickly to the player who might, or might not, be the centerpiece of Monken’s efforts in Baltimore. No, Monken has not spoken with quarterback Lamar Jackson, who has yet to reach a long-term extension with the Ravens and could hit free agency next month if the team does not use the franchise tag to keep him off the market. He is, however, eager to build an attack around Jackson’s “elite” skill set if given the opportunity. For all his success, he’s never worked with a quarterback like the 2019 NFL Most Valuable Player.
“It’s obvious when you watch him on film the things he can do with a football, the plays that he makes,” Monken said. “I think he’s underrated as a passer. … You’ve all seen it. I watch what you watch. And it’s pretty amazing.”
Monken expressed little anxiety about the prospect of a summer holdout from Jackson should the Ravens use the franchise tag — the window for applying the tag opened Tuesday and will close March 7 — to keep their quarterback in place for the 2023 season. “I’m sure he’ll be behind, but it’s still just football,” Monken said. “We’ll cater to what he knows and play. But it’s like any player; the more time you spend with them, the more comfortable they get with any system or relationship.”
The new offensive coordinator, Harbaugh’s seventh in 16 seasons, brought an informal tone to his introduction, striding to the podium in an untucked Ravens polo and answering questions with self-deprecating wit.
Monken, 57, heaped praise on his predecessor, Roman, noting that when he watched tape of the Ravens’ ground attack, he thought: “I don’t know what I’m going to be able to do better.” That said, he spoke of increasing pace and spreading out his skill players so defenses do not know where to focus.
Through more than a dozen college and professional coaching stops, Monken has built his reputation not on wizardry with a single offensive style but on finding optimal uses for the talent on hand.
“The biggest part for me … is the ability and focus on building the offense around the talent that you have,” Harbaugh said.
Monken is aware of the lashing Roman took from fans when the team’s offense stagnated each of the last two seasons. He’s aware his honeymoon phase will be brief. “There’s pressure everywhere,” he said. “There was pressure at Georgia. That’s what we sign up for.”
He said his offensive staff is “still a work in progress.” Quarterbacks coach James Urban and tight ends coach George Godsey were among those interviewed for the offensive coordinator job. Wide receivers coach Tee Martin was a candidate for the same job with the Indianapolis Colts. It’s not clear if all will remain on board with a new boss.
Regardless of who’s coaching, Monken, who arrived in Baltimore last Wednesday, said his game plans will be built on the skills of his players, not on any preordained system.
“It’s [about] how they see the game,” he said.
