Baltimore Beatdown
Vote for the Baltimore Ravens’ Coach of the Year for the 2024 season.
The 2024-2025 NFL season is complete, but before the chapter is closed, we want a final look at the joys that came from the Baltimore Ravens’ season.
So, let’s celebrate the successes by handing out our second-annual Baltimore Beatdown Awards. Today, we continue with Coach of the Year.
Beatdown contributors will offer up our nominees, but the winner is ultimately decided by you, the reader, with a poll at each article’s end.
Kyle Phoenix: OC Todd Monken
Before praising Monken — who earned this award — I want to compliment the job done by Defensive Coordinator Zach Orr.
This was a unit expected to follow up one of the best units in recent NFL history. The 2023 defense helmed by Mike Macdonald was a defense to be reckoned with. They were tops in the NFL in so many categories and it was a mighty task for Orr to follow this up as a first-time play-caller. Initially, things weren’t trending poorly. There was panic and frustration and concern. But after serious meetings, conversations and players admitting it was not on him, but on themselves, things changed around for the better.
Certainly, it was no easy decision to bench their once prized free agent safety Marcus Williams for the undrafted Ar’Darius Washington. To move Kyle Hamilton to deep safety where he can’t make the same violent impact across the line of scrimmage. To make adjustments that could further burden the team and risk greater issue. But Orr did so and the team responded with some of the best play after Week 11. He deserves his flowers.
This all said, what Monken achieved with the Ravens in Year 2 was something special. The Ravens were on par with The Greatest Show on Turf Rams. They were the first to ever rack up 4,000 pass yards, 3,000 rush yards. And for a second straight year, Monken’s likely to have made Lamar Jackson an MVP. It’s a significant circumstance for the Ravens to keep Monken with a contract extension as opposed to him leaving the team for a head coaching gig elsewhere this offseason.
The Monken effect has been witnessed since last season. And Year 2 was an incredible improvement. No doubt, this one goes to Monken.
Nikhil Mehta: Pass Rush coach Chuck Smith
With the rest of my colleague’s selecting OC Todd Monken, I’ll go against the grain and vote for pass rush coach Chuck Smith. Monken’s assistant’s – including Tee Martin, George Godsey, Willie Taggart, and Travis Switzer – all merit consideration as well, but Smith deserves credit for the Ravens’ efficient pass rush in 2024.
Baltimore ranked among the bottom 10 defenses in blitz and pressure rate, but converted a league-leading 24.4% of their pressures into sacks, per Next Gen Stats. Smith coached his players not just to win, but to finish, as evidenced by career-highs in sacks for Kyle Van...
