On Tuesday, the Baltimore Ravens introduced new offensive coordinator Todd Monken to the media. Monken left the University of Georgia to be in Baltimore after leading the Bulldogs to back-to-back National Championships.
The quarterbacks at both places are drastically different in Stetson Bennett and Lamar Jackson, but the Ravens should be excited to have the offensive creativity on board for the 2023 season. When asked what the factors in Monken’s decision to leave Georgia for the Ravens were, the offensive coordinator talked about the similarities in culture and reflected on his time with the Bulldogs.
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
“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 [Georgia head coach] 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 [to leave]. You get close to the players, but you can’t be two places at once and this is what’s next.”
Monken spoke about the reasons why he went to the University of Georgia in the first place, which were the culture, the head coach, and being really good on defense. The Ravens are in that same boat as the culture is fantastic, they’re a winning organization, and have a really good defense. The offense is the only aspect of this team that needs work, and Monken could be the guy that takes it to the next level.
