Yes, I’m serious.
Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator, Marty Mornhinweg, often criticized by fans, deserves to return to the coaching staff in the same capacity for the 2019 season. Mornhinweg’s tenure with the Baltimore Ravens began in 2015 when he joined John Harbaugh’s staff as the quarterback’s coach. The veteran coach was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2016 after Marc Trestman was removed from the post. In 2016, Mornhinweg kept the Ravens offense, devoid of talent, relevant and helped bring the team to a near playoff surge. In 2017, Mornhinweg found ways to keep the offense afloat after starting quarterback Joe Flacco sustained a back injury that lingered for half the year, and wide receivers constantly underperformed. By the time Flacco was healthy, the offense became one of the best in the NFL.
The second half success of the offense secured Mornhinweg his job last year and should do the same this year. Mornhinweg built a system around Joe Flacco in the offseason that was efficient in the passing game, and completely changed the team’s philosophy in the middle of the season when the team was forced to make a change at quarterback. Baltimore became an old-school, ground and pound football team, and won with a scheme that almost no football team will dare to attempt in modern times. Not only did Mornhinweg reshape the offense to compete in an unconventional manner, but he also did so with a quarterback that many, including myself, thought would never succeed at the NFL level. Mornhinweg knows how to work with what he has, and adapts to it.
The Baltimore Ravens are committed to Lamar Jackson for the near future and will need to find a coordinator that can develop him. Why look elsewhere when one is already on contract in Baltimore? In 2009, the Philadelphia Eagles took in Michael Vick after two years of a league suspension and gave him to offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. Mornhinweg not only found a way to win with Vick at the helm, but he morphed him into a better quarterback. 2010 was the first time in Vick’s career that he passed for over 3,000 yards and completed more than 60% of his passes. Vick also passed for a career-high 21 touchdowns and averaged 5.6 yards per attempt. Vick’s mobile ability did not dissipate during his debut as a true passer. He rushed for 676 yards and a career-high, nine touchdowns that year. Under Marty Mornhinweg, Michael Vick finally became a good quarterback.
If the Baltimore Ravens are going to find success with Lamar Jackson at the helm, the team is going to need to give him continuity at the offensive coordinator position and pair him with a coach who understands how to develop him into an elite passer. A quarterback that can pass the ball with as much accuracy as any other and still outrun defenders on the ground is the ultimate weapon in football. For Lamar Jackson to become that weapon, he needs to be in an offense he is comfortable with, and one that will progressively get more balanced as his skills develop. Mornhinweg demonstrated that he knows how to work with the players at his disposal, and will run an offense that will find success with Lamar Jackson at the helm, so long as he develops on schedule. Baltimore would be foolish to risk the future, and not retain Marty Mornhinweg.
