Head Coach John Harbaugh announced Tuesday that Marty Mornhinweg will remain the team's offensive coordinator.
Harbaugh said he's excited to move forward with all three coordinators, including Defensive Coordinator Dean Pees and Special Teams Coordinator Jerry Rosburg.
There has been media and fan speculation about whether Mornhinweg would stay on the staff after being promoted to offensive coordinator midway through the year.
The Ravens finished 21st in the league in scoring (21.4 points per game), 17th in yards per game (347.7) and 28th in touchdowns (32) this season.
Harbaugh said it's a decision he's grappled with, but is confident that it's the best move going forward.
"Those decisions are taken very seriously. I'm not just sitting there saying it's easier to keep anybody. Actually, it's easier to do the opposite," Harbaugh said.
"I lie awake at night thinking about it; I think about it driving to work, driving home, what the best way to do it is and who the best people to do it are, and that's the conclusion that I came to. And I have the support of everyone in the organization."
Harbaugh said he talked about the decision with others in the organization, including Owner Steve Bisciotti, General Manager Ozzie Newsome, the players and others, but that it's his call to make.
"My heart, my gut and my head says this is the best way to go, and that's what we've decided to do," Harbaugh said.
The Ravens offense showed some progress under Mornhinweg, especially over a four-game stretch late in the season when the offense played well enough to win.
Mornhinweg also provides consistency for quarterback Joe Flacco and an offense that has had five different coordinators in the past five years: Cam Cameron (2008-2012), Jim Caldwell (2012-2013), Gary Kubiak (2014), Marc Trestman (2015-2016) and Mornhinweg (2016).
Harbaugh said consistency was part of the decision, "but it's not the deciding factor."
"You're going to put the best thing in place that you possibly can. I think guys can handle change," Harbaugh said. "It's a good system for us."
On Monday, as he cleaned out his locker, tight end Dennis Pitta said he wanted Mornhinweg to stay.
"Personally, I'd like to see us have some consistency and stay with the group that we've got," Pitta said. "I think we have a lot to build upon."
Mornhinweg took over for Trestman in Week 6. In Mornhinweg's 11 games, the Ravens were 18th in the league in scoring (22.6 points per game) and still 17th in yards (352).
It's not a drastic change from the stats Trestman's offense posted, but the Ravens faced five defenses in the top-10 in points allowed with Mornhinweg at the helm.
Late in the season, the Ravens put up 38 points and 496 yards against the playoff-bound Miami Dolphins. Baltimore scored 27 points in a win over the Philadelphia Eagles and the same in a Pittsburgh loss in Week 16.
Mornhinweg hit some bumps in the road along the way. After a 19-14 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Nov. 27, Flacco said the Ravens were too conservative. A late pass with a 10-point lead against the Philadelphia Eagles, which resulted in an interception, nearly led to a collapse.
"I don't need to stand up here and say Marty Mornhinweg is a good football coach; he's proven that," Harbaugh said.
"I think when you watch him coach every single day and you talk to the players about the direction we're going and how he teaches the game and what he emphasizes and the way he builds the offense, our players believe in him and believe we're on the right track. That's part of it as well, but more than that, I believe in him."
With that said, the Ravens will make some offensive changes over the offseason. Harbaugh said he's looking to hire a creative offensive coach, possibly as the quarterbacks coach. He also said the Ravens have to run the ball better and more.
Overall, the Ravens had a lopsided pass-run ratio under Mornhinweg after some analysts expected a change following Trestman's dismissal. The Ravens finished the season with the most passing attempts in the NFL (679) and the third-fewest rushing attempts (367), which also set a franchise low.
On Monday, Flacco said it's tough to base too much off those stats, pointing to pass-heavy situations at the end of halves or when the Ravens were behind on the scoreboard. He said the Ravens "probably have to run the ball a little bit more," but that getting leads would produce that.
"It needs to be to go out there and be aggressive and be in attack mode," Flacco said of the offense's mentality moving forward. "I think we need to find some ways to shorten some of our drives and have some bigger plays."
The Ravens found success with their running game down the stretch, especially with rookie fourth-round pick Kenneth Dixon, who averaged 5.2 yards per carry over the final five games.
"It would be nice to run the ball more," right guard Marshal Yanda said. "But in the end, I found out with that over the years that's Marty's call. That's John's call."
Pitta said it's a matter of improving in situational football. Quite simply, the Ravens didn't score enough touchdowns.
"We had a lot of explosive plays, and we were able to move the ball with some consistency, but at the end of the day in critical situations, we didn't quite finish," Pitta said. "That's something we'll go to work on and we'll certainly get better at that, but it is a foundation that we can build upon."
