Greg Roman Is Leaving to Seek New Challenges

By Maggie On Jan 19, 2023

Greg Roman Is Leaving to Seek New Challenges; A new offensive coordinator will be taking over for the Ravens in 2023, as Athletes First confirmed Greg Roman’s departure to pursue other opportunities.

This announcement was announced by the Ravens on Thursday morning, hours before a scheduled press conference with Head Coach John Harbaugh and General Manager Eric DeCosta at 2:30 p.m.

Throughout multiple seasons, “Greg has led the creation and success of a record-setting offense in Baltimore,” Harbaugh stated. He’s a great football coach, husband, and father.

Greg designed and directed our offense to 26 firsts in NFL history and firsts for our club. He forged our offense’s signature style. We appreciate what Greg has done and are confident in his ability to take our company to new heights.

Roman expressed his gratitude to Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, head coach John Harbaugh, and other team executives, players, and fans.

“After talking it over with Coach Harbaugh and my family, I’ve decided that now is the perfect time to move on from the Ravens so that I can explore other challenges and possibilities,” Roman stated.

Since 2019, Roman has served as offensive coordinator for the Ravens, where he has helped guide Lamar Jackson to some of the team’s most productive offensive seasons. Roman was honored as the AP’s assistant coach of the year in 2019, and Jackson was voted the league’s most valuable player by a wide margin. Since Roman took over as head coach, the Ravens have gone 39-15 when Jackson has been on the field.

Roman devised a ground-breaking offensive scheme based on Jackson’s unbelievable talent, and Jackson carried it out superbly. This is where Raven’s offense stood over Roman’s four years as head coach.

2019: Number one in scoring, number two in total yards

7th in points and 19th in yards in 2020.

All teams in 2021 will finish 17th in points and 6th in yards.

As of 2022, they rank 19th in points and 16th in yards.

Never before has the Ravens finished consecutive seasons in the top 10 in points scored. Both of their positions reached career highs in 2019.

The New England Patriots held the record for most running yards in a season for 41 years before the Baltimore Ravens broke it in 2019. Jackson’s 2019 season total of 1,206 running yards is the greatest ever for a quarterback. The Ravens tied the Steelers (1974–1977) for the most consecutive games with 100 yards rushing by a single team with 43 from 2019–2021.

Nonetheless, the Ravens’ offense had even more issues this season. After a strong start, the Baltimore team struggled after losing standout wide receiver Rashod Bateman to a season-ending foot injury. Jackson’s knee injury in Week 13 exacerbated the offense’s problems. The Ravens’ scoring margin dropped 13.6 points per game without Jackson, and they lost to the Bengals in the wild-card round.

The game flipped after the Ravens scored 17 points when quarterback Tyler Huntley fumbled the ball on a goal-line sneak, and Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard returned it for a 98-yard touchdown.

The Ravens’ poor performance in the red zone was a consistent concern all season, as they ranked last in the NFL. Baltimore ranked second in the NFL in rushing with 160 yards per game thanks to Roman’s creative rushing strategy, but they were worst in the NFL in passing with just 88 yards per game.

Under Roman, Baltimore’s attack mainly relied on the run and was less effective in the passing game. In passing, the Ravens rated first in 2019, first in 2020, and first in 2022, according to Football Outsiders’ DVOA rankings. The Ravens averaged just 178.1 passing yards per game this season, enough for 28th in the league. That ranked them 32nd in 2020, 13th in 2021, and 27th in 2019.