The Ravens will have a new offensive coordinator in 2023, as Greg Roman is leaving to seek other opportunities, his agency Athletes First announced.
The news broke hours before the Ravens' 2:30 p.m. Thursday press conference with Head Coach John Harbaugh and General Manager Eric DeCosta, and the Ravens released a statement from Harbaugh.
"Greg has led the development and success of a record-setting offense in Baltimore for several seasons," Harbaugh said. "He is a tremendous football coach, as well as family man and person.
"Greg devised and led our offense to no fewer than 26 historical NFL and franchise achievements. He established an identity for our offense. We are grateful for Greg's great work and abilities, and we wish him and his wonderful family the utmost happiness going forward."
Roman released a statement thanking Owner Steve Bisciotti, Harbaugh, other Ravens organizational leaders, players, and fans.
"After visiting with Coach Harbaugh and after huddling with my family, I have decided that now is the right time to move on from the Ravens so that I can explore new challenges and opportunities," Roman said.
Roman has been the Ravens' offensive coordinator since 2019 and engineered some of the most successful offenses in franchise history with Lamar Jackson as his signal-caller. In 2019, Roman was named the AP Assistant Coach of the Year and Jackson was the unanimous league MVP. When Jackson has played, the Ravens have had a 39-15 record with Roman.
Roman built a revolutionary offense centered around Jackson's unreal talent, and Jackson executed it at a high level. Over Roman's four seasons at the helm, here's where the Ravens offense ranked:
- 2019 – 1st in points, 2nd in yards
- 2020 – 7th in points, 19th in yards
- 2021 – 17th in points, 6th in yards
- 2022 – 19th in points, 16th in yards
The Ravens had never before ranked in the top 10 in points scored in back-to-back seasons. Their rankings in 2019 were both franchise highs.
In 2019, the Ravens had 3,296 rushing yards, breaking the New England Patriots' mark for most rushing yards in a season, a record that stood for 41 years. Jackson's 1,206 rushing yards in 2019 are the most ever by a quarterback. From 2019-2021, the Ravens also ran for 100 yards in 43 straight games, tying the Pittsburgh Steelers (1974-1977) for the most in league history.
However, this season, the Ravens offense ran into more troubles. Baltimore's unit got off to a hot start, but slowed when top wide receiver Rashod Bateman was lost to a season-ending foot injury. When Jackson went down with a knee injury in Week 13, the offense struggled more. The Ravens averaged 13.6 points in their final six games without Jackson, including the wild-card playoff loss in Cincinnati.
The Ravens scored 17 points in the playoff loss and the game turned when a goal-line quarterback sneak by Tyler Huntley resulted in a fumble that was returned for a 98-yard touchdown by Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard.
The Ravens' red-zone issues were a problem all year, as they finished 30th in the NFL. Roman's innovative rushing scheme once again excelled, as Baltimore was second in the league with 160 rushing yards per game, but the passing attack finished 28th.
Baltimore's offense was always run-heavy under Roman, but it was less efficient in the passing game. The Ravens ranked 16th in Football Outsiders' DVOA in passing in 2022, 16th in 2021, 17th in 2020, and first in 2019. The Ravens finished 28th in passing yards per game (178.8) this season, 13th in 2021, 32nd in 2020, and 27th in 2019.
