Todd Monken explains why he left Georgia for Ravens’ OC job
New Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken left a great situation at Georgia to return to the NFL. Monken helped Georgia win back-to-back national championships during his final two seasons in Athens.
Monken has previously served as an NFL offensive coordinator and will get another crack at it with the Ravens. Baltimore’s entire offense is in limbo this offseason. The Ravens rely heavily on quarterback Lamar Jackson for offensive production. However, Jackson is scheduled to become a free agent this offseason.
Todd Monken thinks that the Ravens have one of the best organizations in the NFL. He went on to say that he would only join an organization with similar success to Georgia. Additionally, Monken sees room for improvement in Baltimore’s offense, which is similar to how he felt when he began his career at Georgia in 2020.
OC Todd Monken on why the strong cultures at both Georgia and the Ravens factored into his decision: pic.twitter.com/StXlJCG8Jr
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) February 21, 2023
Here’s what Monken’s full quote:
I think first is the challenge to do it against the best in the world. I think everybody aspires to have that challenge. If I was going to do it, it was going to be somewhere that was parallel to Georgia. Part of the reason I went to Georgia – one of the main reasons – was because of culture; head coach, winning, really good on defense, obviously trying to find a way to do it better on offense. So, I thought that was a parallel that I thought fit me. So, irrespective of who was or wasn’t going to be on the roster, I felt like it was something that I really wanted to do, and that I’ve always wanted to do. So, that doesn’t mean that I’m not grateful for Kirby Smart and the coaches that I worked with there. I get way too much credit for our success; I came in there, and the culture was already set, the players were already recruited. The staff that we put together was tremendous in terms of our success, but this was what was next. You can’t be two places at once; that’s just the way it is sometimes in life. That was a great job, and it was hard. You get close to the players, but you can’t be two places at once and this is what’s next.
Monken is thankful for his time in Georgia. He went out of his way to credit Georgia and Kirby Smart for having a good system in place and a lot of talented players.
Former Georgia basketball coach Tom Crean and his wife are part of the reason why Todd Monken was on the Ravens’ radar. Tom Crean’s wife, Joani, is the sister of Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh. She is also friends with Todd Monken.
Kirby Smart and Georgia hired Mike Bobo as the program’s new offensive coordinator. Bobo served as an offensive analyst for Georgia in 2022 and is replacing Monken in Athens.
