Ravens OC Misses Out on Head Coach Jobs

After interviewing for two head-coaching jobs last offseason, Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken figured to be a popular candidate this offseason, and indeed he was.

In just the first week of the offseason, Monken, 58, received interview requests from the Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars and Las Vegas Raiders for their head-coaching vacancies. With him taking the Ravens' offense to new heights this season, his chances of landing one of those jobs seemed reasonably high.

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately depending on one's perspective, it doesn't seem like Monken will become a head coach this year.

On Monday, the Bears hired former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to be their new head coach. On Thursday, the Jaguars hired former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen following a wild saga. Finally on Friday, the Raiders hired former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, bringing the Super Bowl XLVIII champion to Sin City.

With all three teams Monken interviewed with finding their new head coaches, he seems poised to return for his third season as the Ravens' offensive coordinator, barring a last-minute change of course.

While the Ravens would've been proud to see Monken move up the coaching ranks, they're very happy to have him back for another go.

"It will be very meaningful if and when we get Todd back," head coach John Harbaugh told reporters Wednesday. "I'm very hopeful that we will. ... Todd Monken will be a great head coach; I'll just say that.

"He's a really good football coach. He's an old-school football coach with kind of a new-school and creative mind. [He's] always creating. He works well with his staff. We have a great staff around him, so because of that, it would be very meaningful if and when we get him back, and we continue [moving] forward."

Monken's only previous head-coaching experience came at Southern Miss from 2013-15. He built the program up from virtually nothing, culminating in a 9-5 season with a Conference USA championship game appearance in his final season.

Shortly after that, though, Monken left to become offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He's only held offensive coordinator roles since then, first with the Cleveland Browns in 2019, then at Georgia in 2020-22, and most recently with the Ravens since 2023.

There's no doubt about Monken's status as an offensive guru, but he'll have to wait to lead an NFL franchise for at least another year, if that is what he wants.

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