The Baltimore Ravens needed a new offensive coordinator after Greg Roman resigned after a four-year run as the offensive coordinator. The Ravens found their replacement with Todd Monken, a coach with 34 years of coaching experience in the college and NFL ranks.
One person who has experience with Monken is former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and current New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston, who played for Monken in Tampa Bay from 2016-2018. Winston thrived with Monken as offensive coordinator. The former No. 1 overall pick threw for 10,586 yards and 66 touchdowns during those three seasons. In 2018, the Buccaneers led the NFL in passing offense, averaging 320.3 yards a game through the air.
“The Ravens are getting a detailed, specific, confident coordinator and that’s what you need in this league,” Winston said on Glenn Clark Radio March 30. “You can’t have a coordinator that’s allowing the defense to dictate the ballgame. You have to have coordinators that are forward thinkers that are always looking for new ways to design and create concepts and plays to create complexity in the offense and to attack the defense.”
Aside from Tampa Bay, Monken worked for the Jacksonville Jaguars as the wide receivers coach from 2007-2010 and was the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns in 2019. Monken most recently worked at Georgia as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, helping guide the Bulldogs to back-to-back national championships.
“Todd coaches like he plays a lot of football so he understands the ins and outs of what a player is looking forward to, what a player is expecting,” Winston said. “… He uses his strengths to basically put players in great situations and make sure his offense is running effectively.”
Winston came to Baltimore this past weekend to accept the Ed Block Courage Award as this year’s Saints recipient of the prestigious honor. The former Heisman Trophy winner has suffered multiple injuries the past two seasons. In 2021, Winston tore his ACL in October, ending his season. Then in 2022, Winston’s season was derailed with back and ankle injuries, leading him to the backup role after three games.
“It means a lot to me. The award and the foundation itself, what this award means throughout this league just displays the resiliency and perseverance [that] 32 players display,” Winston said. “With it being a team voted award it just kind of [speaks] volumes to what your teammates think about you.”
For more from Winston, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credits: Michael C. Hebert/New Orleans Saints and Courtesy of Georgia Athletics