The Baltimore Ravens hired former University of Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken to be their next offensive coordinator after a four-year run with Greg Roman at the helm. Many are excited about what Monken can bring to the table as an offensive mind, and want to see him work with quarterback Lamar Jackson.
In terms of Jackson, his situation with Baltimore is murky at the moment, as no long-term extension has been reached. When asked if Jackson would be behind if a holdout potentially ensues, Monken talked about the trust between coaches and players, specifically quarterbacks.
“Sure, he’ll be behind, but it’s still just football. I think sometimes we make this out to be way too much. It’s just football. I don’t know when he started – maybe at five years old with the Purple Pounders or something in Miami or something. It’s just football. We’ll cater to what he knows, and play. It’s like any player. Any player is like that; the more time you spend with them, the more comfortable they get with any system or relationship. That’s a big part of it, and there’s a big part of that relationship from a quarterback-coordinator, play-caller, position coach where they’re comfortable and there’s a trust. That’s a big part of that, and that’s built over time, even beyond individual plays in that comfort of like, ‘Hey, we’re going to give you the keys to this car. Let’s see what you can do.’ That happens a lot more in the offseason – I’m kind of now expanding it – in the offseason is where you experiment. That’s kind of where you kind of let the quarterback have some reins with it. As you get closer to the season, that kind of goes away a little bit. You have to start game-planning and really be dialed into what you’re going to do.”
