Harbs on Roman Returning: “That’s the Plan”

Yesterday, Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh had an end-of-year press conference which he began by discussing how “fired up” he was thinking about the team’s future, asking himself “What do we need to do? What’s the next step?” When Harbaugh led with those statements, I allowed myself to believe that there could be some significant details revealed about the road ahead.

In the end, I felt like the embodiment of the Forrest Gump meme as he says, “I’m not a smart man.”

I understand that the job of a head coach is as much about being a public-facing figure as it is about football-related decisions. I also understand that tipping your hand by revealing too much of your strategy could be catastrophic. But the way that this season ended raised more questions than most seasons in recent memory, and everyone who follows this team knows that the franchise is at a crossroads. We all want to know about the direction that leadership is taking this team, and that’s why Coach Harbaugh’s presser had us all eagerly waiting for the clock to hit 1:00 pm.

What followed was, in one man’s opinion, a lot of coach-speak. Some questions were grooved pitches from media members right over the plate that Harbaugh could knock out of the park.  Elsewhere, there was a lot of bobbing and weaving on the few difficult questions. In a media appearance with about a 42-minute run time, there were about seven minutes of real, actual information. A good chunk of it was injury updates.

I’m not trying to be the eternal pessimist, but it’s not easy when one of the few actual answers Ravens fans got to a burning question was a lukewarm commitment to the most polarizing figure in the building:

John Harbaugh on Greg Roman: “I plan on Greg being back. I believe Greg plans on being back, but it’s still early. We’re only three weeks past the season. Things happen quickly, but that’s the plan.”

— Sarah Ellison (@sgellison) January 31, 2022

John Harbaugh says Greg Roman is expected to return as offensive coordinator.

“That’s the plan.”

— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) January 31, 2022

I’ll withhold my personal opinion on that subject and instead allow you to read the comments on those Tweets. If you’re feeling really brave, the comments on the Facebook or YouTube stream are an adventure, too. If you’ll pardon the expression, it went over like a fart in church.

While on the subject of the coaching staff, what about the decision to move on from Wink Martindale? They both felt like “it was just time,” and he’s excited to build forward with newly-minted Defensive Coordinator Mike Macdonald. Harbaugh did indicate that there could be more conversation about it on Wednesday at Macdonald’s introductory appearance.

Skipping ahead slightly, there were a few more pieces of personnel news.

Harbaugh said that WR coach Tee Martin will be interviewing for the Bills OC job.
He also said that DL coach/run game coordinator Anthony Weaver will be interviewing for Broncos DC job.

— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) January 31, 2022

Harbaugh confirms that strength and conditioning coach Steve Saunders will be back.

— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) January 31, 2022

Harbaugh moved on by acknowledging that offensive execution was an issue, as the team finished 6^th in total yardage on offense, but 17^th in scoring. He rattled off a list of reasons why the Ravens weren’t more successful on offense.

John Harbaugh’s critiques of the offense: not enough big plays, too many penalties, too many sacks, not a lot of yards after contact.

He wants the Ravens to “choose their scheme direction wisely.” But h wants Roman to lead the way.

— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) January 31, 2022

It’s good to know that the coaching staff is aware of the on-field needs, but speaking freely from a personal standpoint, I didn’t learn anything from this information. If you watched the games, none of this was news.

The question that the lack of execution raised is how we fix it moving forward. To that end, Harbaugh said, “We can look at that with the coaching staff that we have.” As Jonas observed, this would mean those discussions about offensive scheme are going to occur with Greg Roman still at the helm on offense.

Harbaugh did say that the coaches “try to make things as individualized as we can… there’s always guys who like certain things, there’s always guys who don’t like certain things, and I think it’s incumbent upon us to know what those things are.” I know I’m talking crazy here, but maybe it’s time to let your playbook adjust to your dual threat MVP quarterback and not the other way around?

We’ll go rapid fire on injury news:

John Harbaugh said he’s “hopeful” that Ronnie Stanley and Nick Boyle will be good to go in 2022.

“So far, so good.”

— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) January 31, 2022

Harbaugh said he is confident about the fact that Ronnie Stanley and Nick Boyle can be back at full speed next year in addition to the RBs (Dobbins, Edwards).
Harbaugh said Bowser did tear his Achilles and had surgery. “I think Tyus will be back for the start of the season.”

— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) January 31, 2022

Harbaugh said that Derek Wolfe had labrum surgery on his hip.

— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) January 31, 2022

Maybe I’m projecting out of frustration, but this appearance did nothing but amplify a concern that’s been in my mind: we aren’t hearing much about the road ahead because even our most important figures don’t know.

Harbaugh made mention of not knowing what players might end up being cap casualties until those players gauge the free agent market, and hearing those words put a pit in my stomach. They also imply several things: draft strategy will be shaped by player recovery and free agency. Free agency will be shaped by the market. The market will be shaped, as always, by supply and demand at the mercy of the rest of the league.

It’s a double-edged sword. While I’m probably worrying too much about issues that only time will solve, it would be nice to know that the adults in the room have some of the answers. For the masochists among us, the remaining media appearances for the week featuring said adults are:

• Head Coach John Harbaugh & Defensive Coordinator Mike Macdonald: Wednesday, Feb. 2 at 1 p.m.
• Executive Vice President & General Manager Eric DeCosta: Friday, Feb. 4 at 10 a.m.

I’m going to do my best to keep my sunny side up for the rest of this week’s media availability, but right now, this is a big mood.

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