BALTIMORE — The Ravens are expected to hire former Florida Atlantic, Oregon and Florida State head coach Willie Taggart as their running backs coach, their first staff tweak under new offensive coordinator Todd Monken, according to multiple reports.
Craig Ver Steeg coached the Ravens’ running backs in 2021 and 2022, when the team finished third and second in rushing, respectively, under previous offensive coordinator Greg Roman. The team’s backfield remains stocked, with running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards both expected to be healthy after they returned from serious knee injuries in 2022. Ver Steeg has been on coach John Harbaugh’s staff since 2008 and could shift to a different role.
Taggart, 46, played quarterback and coached for Harbaugh’s father, Jack, at Western Kentucky and then served as quarterbacks coach for Jim Harbaugh at Stanford from 2007 to 2009. From there, he returned to Western Kentucky as head coach. He jumped to South Florida in 2013, Oregon in 2017, and Florida State in 2018. He was fired in Nov. 2019 after going 9-12 with the Seminoles but resurfaced at Florida Atlantic in 2020, going 15-18 in three seasons there. He’s 71-80 overall as a college head coach.
The Ravens could make more changes to their offensive staff, which Monken described as “still a work in progress” Tuesday at his introductory news conference.