Baltimore Ravens’ new offensive coordinator Todd Monken has worked in the NFL prior to having success at the University of Georgia in the same role, winning back-to-back National Championships. He had stints as the offensive coordinator both for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cleveland Browns, so he has familiarity calling plays for an offense at the NFL level.
When asked what he learned from the last three years at Georgia that can make him a better coach now, after having previous stints in the NFL, Monken went into great detail about how he believes the game has changed over his time as a coach. He talked about how it’s now about being explosive, creating space, and incorporating it all into an offense.
“I think the game has changed. The game has become more of a space game; using all 53-and-a-third yards and using the width and depth of the field, using space players and your skill players. I think that’s changed. Years ago, maybe it was inside-zone and run-duo downhill. Now, it’s utilizing athletic quarterbacks. The game has changed; it’s changing. At one time, it was taller pocket passers, and now you’re seeing more shorter, athletic players. The game has changed in terms of using their athleticism, using players’ athleticisms, what they bring to the table because the game is about space. It’s about being explosive. Well, how do you create explosives? Well, part of it is creating space. So, that’s probably the biggest thing is, ‘How do you find a way to incorporate that into your offense?’ I think also being no-huddle, some tempo [and] what that provides because [in the college game] we were all no-huddle. It’s a little bit different then because of the dynamics of a signal system, and then the [radio communication] green dot to the quarterback. So, you have to work through some of that. That will take some working through, but it’s a speed bump, not a hurdle.”
