The Baltimore Ravens were searching for a new offensive coordinator after Greg Roman stepped down in January, and the Ravens eventually chose former Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken after interviewing 14 candidates for the job.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh credited his sister, Joani Crean, for recommending Monken. Joani is married to former Georgia men’s basketball coach Tom Crean. The Crean and Monken families were new to Georgia at the time, so the two became very friendly.
“I knew of Todd as a coach. I followed his career, but I didn’t really get to know Todd outside of sports until I got to know him on the level as a couple,” Tom Crean said on Glenn Clark Radio Feb. 24. “And I think that was pretty cool because once you get around Todd, you just see the passion, you see the fire. I mean, you definitely can see it when you watch his offense.”
Crean said he and his wife recommended Monken because they saw how good his offense was and respected him as a person. The former basketball coach said he and his wife could not break down all the intricacies of Monken’s offense, but they could relay what kind of a person he is and what they saw him accomplish.
Monken was at Georgia for the past three seasons and contributed to back-to-back national championships. The Bulldogs went 15-0 overall with an 8-0 mark in the SEC during the 2022-23 season. Georgia averaged 501.1 yards per game, fifth in the country, and ran 1,058 total offensive plays on the season, third in the nation.
“What he did with Stetson Bennett is absolutely incredible,” Crean said. “And to go from a guy that was a walk-on fourth-string quarterback to be a two-time national champion and be the leader of his offense, obviously that says a lot about Stetson’s drive, but it also says a lot about Todd’s ability to make him better.”
Crean mentioned his loyalties are with Harbaugh, as he is family. He and his wife would only recommend someone to their family if they knew they were capable of this job. Monken was a head coach before at Southern Miss and has been a highly successful coordinator at several stops.
Monken brings energy and flexibility to every organization he is part of, according to Crean, who says Monken has a great understanding of all the different aspects of any offense a team might want to run.
With the approval of Joani and Tom Crean and given his track record of building a good offense around the talent he has, Monken was the perfect fit for the Ravens’ offensive coordinator position.
“I think [Monken is] a risk-taker, but it’s not risk based on a wish list. It’s risk based on what he knows. I think he is a decisive leader,” Crean said. “I don’t think there’s going to be any issue with clarity. I don’t think there’s going to be any issue with this is what he wants. I don’t think there’s going to be any issue with energy. And I don’t think there’s going to be any issue with accountability. I think those are all things that stand out in his leadership to me.”
For more from Crean, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Georgia Athletics