Todd Monken has yet to complete his first season as the Baltimore Ravens’ offensive coordinator, and Mike Macdonald has yet to complete his second season as their defensive coordinator. But that probably didn’t stop Coach John Harbaugh from pondering what life might be like without them during Baltimore’s Week 13 bye.
After years of stability at the coordinator spots, Harbaugh altered the primary coaching voices on both sides of the ball, undoubtedly thinking he might enjoy a sustained run with at least one of the two new hires. Harbaugh stayed within his coaching tree by tabbing a rising wunderkind in Macdonald, who steadily worked his way up the team’s ranks before spending one year running Harbaugh’s brother Jim’s defense at Michigan and then returning to Baltimore to replace Don “Wink” Martindale. Harbaugh went outside his coaching circle to hire Monken from Georgia early this year, going with more of a grizzled play-calling veteran to expand the team’s passing concepts beyond what former coordinator Greg Roman established.
Losing both so quickly would be the kind of first-world problem many franchises could only aspire to have, and the Ravens are focused on trying to win another Lombardi Trophy. But it seems as if Harbaugh did such a good job replacing Roman and Martindale that he will probably be reshuffling his staff again. Several personnel executives, after reading my recent piece on potential hot head coaching candidates, chided me for omitting Monken, who came close to landing the New York Jets job not that long ago.
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“I think they’re both getting [head coaching] jobs,” one general manager said of Monken and Macdonald. (He spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not permitted to discuss pending staff changes at other teams.) “John has to know that’s a real possibility. They’re both going to get interviews.”
One top executive with a team almost certain to be looking for a new head coach said: “Baltimore is going to lose them both. I like the OC more than the DC. The OC is going to be somebody’s head coach, man. He’s done it [at Southern Mississippi] before. His offense was great at Georgia. He’s ready.
“I look at the players to be my guide. Look at how happy Lamar [Jackson] is in this offense. Their scoring is way up. Monken’s been through the process before. He knows how to handle himself. There’s a lot of buzz about the young DC, too. I don’t know as much about him, but I know people like him. But, man, I think Monken is going to get one.”
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A top coaching agent, who does not represent either Ravens coordinator but has several clients who figure to interview for head coaching jobs, concurred with that prediction. “Harbaugh’s going to be looking for two new coordinators,” he said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to assess other candidates. “You think he promotes from within?”
It’s an interesting question, given that Harbaugh recently had an opportunity to do just that and passed. And that question could soon become more pressing. If the Ravens land the No. 1 seed in the AFC and Jackson remains in the MVP conversation, Harbaugh’s staff may be more in demand than any other next month.
Bill Belichick’s future
Might Bill Belichick’s job prospects turn out to be bleaker than almost anyone would anticipate for a coach of his stature?
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I’m starting to believe that is a distinct possibility. As the head coaching cycle gets closer and coaches, executives and agents size up the probable openings, the exercise of placing the winningest coach of the salary cap era gets tricky. There aren’t any slam dunk landing spots for the New England Patriots coach, and there appear to be few great fits.
Several teams with probable openings that he is rumored to covet most might not want him. He will turn 72 in April with his results in steep decline, inevitable issues about how much personnel control he would mandate and questions about how much longer he really wants to do this. Even in a year with few “it” coordinators, I wouldn’t be shocked if this ends up being a far softer market than Belichick’s résumé would suggest — and exponentially softer than, say, had he left the Patriots when Tom Brady did. Can you execute a three-year plan with him at this stage of his career?
“He’s not going to get” a head coaching job, the personnel executive said. “Who’s hiring him? Which owner? I went through them all, and I don’t see it. This league is moving to younger and cheaper, and he’s neither. He doesn’t really fit with any of these owners. I’ll make you a bet he doesn’t get one. And [Jim] Harbaugh isn’t getting one, either. He wants back in, but it’s not going to happen.”
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I chose not to take him up on the wager. But by the end of the conversation, I was convinced Belichick might be on the outside looking in.
Who’s next in Carolina?
With each passing day, I hear more and more about the unflinching and unwavering fixation Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper has with Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
A billionaire not used to being told no, Tepper if anything has only grown more passionate about the guy who snubbed him a year ago to remain in Detroit. Some are convinced Tepper will keep throwing money Johnson’s way, though few in the coaching and general manager ranks believe the Carolina opening is nearly attractive enough to land a top candidate such as Johnson.
“He wants him now more than ever,” one general manager said of Tepper. “That’s part of the reason [Panthers General Manager Scott Fitterer] is still there, because Tepper is convinced that he can help him get Johnson to come there.”
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Fitterer was part of the group that pitched the job to Johnson a year ago, and he is a low-key general manager who wouldn’t have a problem playing second fiddle to a prominent young coach. Meanwhile, according to other NFL executives, among the things that frustrated Tepper most about Frank Reich, whom he fired two-thirds of the way through his first season, was one character trait: Tepper perceived him to be too low energy and perhaps not as all-consumed with his job as the owner would like. Godspeed to whoever goes there next.
Notes from around the league
The Denver Broncos have made strides, but there are sustained rumblings in the personnel and scouting community that General Manager George Paton may not be back as Coach Sean Payton more fully forms his vision for that franchise. Paton predated Payton in Denver. … For all of the Los Angeles Chargers’ offensive failings, everyone I ask about the best job opening offers the Chargers without hesitation because of quarterback Justin Herbert. That’s where they believe Johnson will most want to be as well. … Expect the New Orleans Saints to be among the franchises looking for an innovative, offensive-minded head coach in the coming weeks. And with up to six quarterbacks set to be selected in the first round of the 2024 draft, I wouldn’t pencil in the Saints for one. I would use a Sharpie.
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