Marty Mornhinweg Has Immediate High Expectations For Offense

Oct 13, 2016 at 09:27 AM

Ryan Mink

Editorial Director

New Ravens Offensive Coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said he's still in the middle of trying to figure out how much of his fingerprint to put on the offense at this point.

He admits he spent too much time earlier this week trying to figure that out, grappling over whether he should alter terminology or coach from the booth or the field.

Pile on top of that a banged-up offensive line, injured wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. and other issues that have hindered the Ravens' No. 22-ranked offense.

Add it all up, and it's a tough opening gig for Mornhinweg Sunday at MetLife Stadium. But don't tell him that.

"I'm telling you now, our expectations are high -- period, done," Mornhinweg said.

Mornhinweg met with the media for the first time as coordinator Thursday. It was instantly clear that he has a different personality than the departed Marc Trestman. Case in point, he said he used to ride a motorcycle but had to stop because he drove too fast.

That's the confidence players raved about Wednesday.

So where does that confidence come from?

Much of it likely is from football experience.

"I think about the only thing I have ever done is play or coach," Mornhinweg said. "Except cleaning up a bar at night for a job in college or something."

Mornhinweg was a high school legend in Northern California, where his offensive coordinator was none other than Mike Holmgren, who went on to become a Super Bowl-winning coach in Green Bay and Seattle.

If Mornhinweg were two inches taller, he says he could have played quarterback at some big college program. Instead, the 5-foot-10 gunslinger set 89 offensive records as a four-year starter at Montana.

He injured his knee in one season with the Arena Football League's Denver Dynamite, and several years later – after stepping on a scale – realized his future was in coaching. He had already caught the bug after spending a summer with legendary San Francisco 49ers coach Bill Walsh, and had a notebook full of Walsh's plays copied from a greaseboard.

After coaching in the college ranks for seven years, Mornhinweg took an assistant coaching job with Holmgren and the Green Bay Packers in 1995. A year later, he was named Brett Favre's quarterbacks coach and won Super Bowl XXXI. Heck of a start.

In just his third year in the NFL, Mornhinweg became the offensive coordinator of the 49ers, where he coached Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young. He was hired as head coach of the Detroit Lions in his seventh year in the league.

Mornhinweg's Lions posted a 5-27 record in his two years and landed back with the Philadelphia Eagles, where he spent nine years and coached with Head Coach John Harbaugh. When Head Coach Andy Reid was ousted, Mornhinweg thought he would go back to the West Coast, but that's when the New York Jets stepped forward* *with an offensive coordinator offer. Mornhinweg was drawn to the bright lights.

Now, in his first game as Ravens offensive coordinator and with 22 years in the NFL under his belt, Mornhinweg is itching to be back to the Big Apple.

"We are all excited to get to New York; kind of the epicenter of the world," Mornhinweg said in his opening statement. "We are really excited about this thing."

There's a lot of buzz and excitement about Mornhinweg's energy and confidence, but he knows he and the offense will be judged on the results on the field.

He didn't have many specifics Thursday on what will change, however.

He said he could spend days talking about his attacking philosophy in the passing game, then gave little insight. When asked about the running game, he said the Ravens have to continue doing what's worked the past two weeks.

"Players are working hard, coaches are working hard," Mornhinweg said. "We have to get it done now. We have to get it done; it is just that simple."

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1995-96: (with Green Bay) Mornhinweg began his NFL coaching career with the Green Bay Packers in 1996, where he helped Green Bay to a victory in Super Bowl XXXI as their quarterbacks coach. Mornhinweg helped lead QB Brett Favre to NFL MVP honors and a victory in Super Bowl XXXI...Favre threw a league-high and career-best 39 TDs.

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2001-02: (with Detroit) Mornhinweg spent two seasons with the Lions in his first NFL head-coaching role.

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2001-02: (with Detroit) Mornhinweg spent two seasons with the Lions in his first NFL head-coaching role.

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2003-12: (with Philadelphia) Spent 10 seasons with the Eagles, including nine (2004-12) as the team's offensive coordinator/assistant head coach...Under his guidance, 10 different offensive players earned a total of 17 Pro Bowl honors. In his final season with the Eagles, the offense set a then-franchise standard in completions (367). RB LeSean McCoy had a league-high 17 rushing TDs and finished fourth in rushing yards (1,309) en route to earning a Pro Bowl nod. Philadelphia set a franchise mark in total points (439, since broken) for the third-consecutive season, which helped Mornhinweg earn Pro Football Weekly NFL Assistant Coach of the Year honors. The offense also set single-season records in completion percentage (62.0) and average per rush (5.4). In his first season guiding the offense, Philadelphia advanced to Super Bowl XXXIX.

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2013-14: (with New York Jets) Spent two seasons as offensive coordinator, helping the Jets rank third in rushing offense (138.7 ypg) during that span. Helped guide a rushing attack that finished third in the NFL (142.5 ypg) behind RBs Chris Ivory and Chris Johnson. C Nick Mangold earned Pro Bowl honors for the fifth time in six seasons. QB Geno Smith became the first rookie signal caller to start all 16 games in franchise history. New York's rushing attack finished sixth in the NFL (134.9 ypg).

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2015: (with Baltimore) Starting four different QBs (Joe Flacco, Matt Schaub, Jimmy Clausen & Ryan Mallett) for the first time in franchise history, the Ravens ranked No. 14 in total offense (eighth passing & 26th rushing). Mornhinweg helped Baltimore post the second-most total net yards in team history (89 short of 2014 record), finishing with 5,749 yards.The Ravens also set a franchise record by averaging 266.9 passing yards per game, thanks in part to a unit that allowed the NFL's third-fewest sacks (24).

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