Baltimore Beatdown
As the Ravens walked off the field Sunday night, it was clear that not only was their season on a lifeline, but maybe this era of Ravens football.
From 2018-2021, Lamar Jackson took the league by storm under the Greg Roman offense. After Roman was relieved of his duties, it was Todd Monken’s turn to maximize the potential of the offense. Coincidentally, the Ravens assembled their dream coaching staff on the defensive side spearheaded by Mike Macdonald.
Unfortunately for Baltimore, Macdonald’s success was so overwhelming, he was quickly poached by the Seattle Seahawks. Additionally, Baltimore lost defensive line coach Anthony Weaver and defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson after the end of their historic 2023 season. This forced Baltimore into a quick transition, elevating linebackers coach Zach Orr to be the new defensive coordinator.
Fast forward to now – when a team with Super Bowl aspirations has slipped out of the playoffs – it’s clear that the roster talent isn’t being maximized. Each coach has obviously found some success and elevated the team in certain areas. Unfortunately, this is a “what have you done for me lately” kind of league and in a place like Baltimore, mediocrity won’t be tolerated. This begs the question, what changes need to be made and which leaders in the Ravens organization have the hottest seat.
John Harbaugh
John Harbaugh is the second longest tenured coach in the NFL, just behind Mike Tomlin. Harbaugh ranks 14th all-time in total wins and 35th in winning percentage. Harbaugh is also 7th all-time in playoff wins with 13. However, 9 of those wins came in his first four seasons of coaching. In the Lamar Jackson era, the Ravens have only 3 playoff wins despite their regular season successes. Needless to say, Harbaugh has accomplished a lot, but most of it came early in his career when players like Reed, Lewis, and Suggs defined the leadership and culture of the franchise.
Since 2008, the league has changed a lot. Most of the more successful teams have a coach that brings some kind of tactical advantage to the game. The CEO style coach still exists, but it’s becoming more and more rare to see them flourishing. When you look at the elite teams in the league right now, names like McVay, MacDonald, Shannahan, Payton are attached.
This isn’t a coincidence. For teams with a CEO-style head coach, it’s imperative that their coordinators are elite. That’s why, in the modern game, it makes more sense to have a Head Coach who can provide some type of positive influence over the offensive or defensive side of the ball. Otherwise, you are playing with one arm tied behind your back, relying on your coordinators to be the best at what they do. In 2023, this was the luxury that John Harbaugh had with Monken and MacDonald. In 2024, Nick Siriani, had a similar luxury. This is to say, the Ravens are falling behind.
Like Mike Tomlin and other CEO-style coaches, Harbaugh has always been...
