OTL: Ravens Staffers are Belles of the Ball for Coach-Hungry Teams

The one thing that has dominated the NFL news cycle this week has been head coaching changes. Many legends of the game have lost their jobs this week. Such is life in the NFL; every team is just trying to chase the most popular trends and is looking for the next great head coach.

Ravens staff members have been very popular among the searches; in fact, they are the most popular:

Here’s my count of reported interview requests for Ravens assistant coaches:

MIKE MACDONALD
• Tennessee Titans
• Carolina Panthers
• Washington Commanders

TODD MONKEN
• LA Chargers
• Carolina Panthers

ANTHONY WEAVER
• Atlanta Falcons
• Washington Commanders

— Sarah Ellison (@sgellison) January 11, 2024

We understood that Mike Mac would be popular, but the number of interview requests the Ravens staff has already gotten is staggering. Todd Monken has only been the OC for a year, yet he is on this list. The one that is surprising to me is Weaver. He is a guy that the Ravens have been slowly grooming to potentially take over the DC spot when/if they lose Mike Mac.

When your team is good, others will want more of that pie, so it makes sense why the Ravens are, at least by my count, the most popular team to get head coaching interviews. If I had to predict, I would say that Mike Mac goes while the others stay. Macdonald is just garnering too much interest around the league right now for him to say. Unless he is an awful interviewer or teams feel like he is not ready to lead a locker room, you can count him gone.

As for Monken, I can’t see him leaving yet. He is an offensive mind, which is a feather in his cap because it is much easier on your team when you hire an offensive-minded head coach. But I think the other options on the market are better than Monken.

Weaver is the true wild card here. He is a defensive guy, and though he is older than Macdonald, he’s still only 43. Weaver has been in charge of one of the best defensive lines in football, and it’s impressive to see him getting these interviews despite never having been a DC. It is possible he kills the interviewing process and convinces a GM he can lead a team better others could. However, if a team wants a more established culture guy with a defensive background, there are better options like Dan Quinn.

While some are worried if this situation could distract the team, we can rest easy knowing these guys have one goal in mind.

Ravens DC Mike Macdonald said the key to balancing his job and the interest for head coach openings is compartmentalization.

Macdonald said he has spoken to teams about their vacancies remotely when at home. pic.twitter.com/cq7hYNxwnH

— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) January 11, 2024

Even if they won’t admit it, the pressure is on to make a long run in the playoffs this year. The amount of roster turnover and a couple of rides on the coaching carousel mean the window may not stay open long. They’re healthy, and after 2019 John Harbaugh and Lamar Jackson should know how to better balance rest vs. rust. The excuses are gone, and the margins are thin. I need a refined mental focus because this is the worst the AFC has looked in a while. The door is wide open for this team right now, and they can’t let this moment slip away. If they do, more questions will be raised, and even more fingers will be pointed Harbaugh and Jackson’s way.

In other news, the Ravens reworked Odell Beckham’s contract. While it might not seem newsworthy, the contract language is interesting.

How interesting? Let’s let the experts explain:

It’s really just accounting. OBJ gets no extra money, but does the Ravens a solid by restructuring the deal to give them some Cap relief for 2024. It also extends the time to reach an extension because the void date was mid-Feb. Now they have til mid-March. 1/ https://t.co/tCNIHNueGh

— Brian McFarland (@RavensSalaryCap) January 11, 2024

This helps relieve some cap in ’24, which could allow the Ravens to retain some of their talent.

Brian’s last sentence does bring up an interesting idea: extending OBJ:

I think the last sentence is also key.
This gives the Ravens and OBJ an extra month to negotiate before he would hit the open market. https://t.co/wiuDekFdvq

— Daniel Rees (@DPRees8) January 11, 2024

It just makes sense on all levels. First, it makes OBJ happy and gives him a permanent home. Two, it gives the Ravens some continuity to their weapons. While the receiver corps is as good as it has been, keeping them together will soften the blow this offseason, when we expect the defense especially to take some big hits

So yes, EDC: please extend OBJ.

In conclusion, this team has so much in front of them, but the consequences of not going to the Super Bowl in a weak conference will have huge repercussions. Let’s not find out.

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