Former defensive end Rob Burnett, a member of the inaugural 1996 Ravens, recently recalled back when he first set foot in Baltimore in 1996 and the journey to becoming a Super Bowl champion.
Burnett was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round of the 1990 NFL Draft and made the move to Baltimore with the team following the 1995 season. It only took five seasons for the Ravens to reach the pinnacle of the sport and become a model organization within the NFL.
Burnett reflected on the Ravens’ success from 1996 to now and said it comes down to one word: consistency. He explained what he meant through what he heard from an NYU business professor.
“His question to his students was, ‘What does McDonald’s represent globally?’ Everybody’s like, ‘McDonald’s, French fries.’ And then he just broke it down. He said, ‘Consistency, that’s what it means,'” Burnett said on Glenn Clark Radio Oct. 2.
“If you’re in China or you’re in Chicago, your cheeseburger is the same. That gets the confidence of the consumer. When you know I’m having Domino’s pizza in Syracuse and it’s the same one I had in Seattle, humans sometimes are into that stuff,” Burnett added. “That’s the secret behind marketing and how that business blows up.”
Burnett’s time in Baltimore is defined by the close relationship and bond he formed with Ravens executive and Hall of Fame tight end Ozzie Newsome. Burnett and Newsome played together with the Browns in 1990 before Newsome went on to be the top football decision-maker for the Ravens. Burnett said his relationship with Newsome was different than anyone else’s because they had played together.
Players knew what they were getting from Newsome, according to Burnett, which was a key factor in the consistency established by Baltimore.
“If you’re one of his guys, he is going to give you every chance to [mess] it up,” Burnett said. “Ozzie’s fair. The one thing that he does that a lot of front office guys and organizations do … like the Steelers, some of these teams that have the structure and foundations, [they don’t] race to fire their next coach next year or next week. … That’s how you build a franchise. The one thing that Ozzie doesn’t do, which is I think paramount — he doesn’t blink. That man don’t get nervous.”
Burnett, 58, is now focused on being a family man and running a real estate business. He mentioned that he will soon miss his daughter, as she only has two years left of high school before leaving home.
For more from Burnett, listen to the full interview here:
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