Ravens: Top 30 Moments in Team History
By Brett Foote
Jan 30, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Baltimore Ravens former coach Brian Billick on the NFL Network set at the Phoenix Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sport
January 19th, 1999 – The Ravens hire former Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Brian Billick as the second head coach in franchise history. Billick led the Ravens to a Super Bowl win in just his second season.
Through 1996-1998, Ravens head coach Ted Marchibroda led the Ravens to three consecutive losing seasons. The team’s braintrust decided to make a change, and that decision was to hire former Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Brian Billick to become the second head coach in franchise history.
And what a wise decision that would turn out to be. The Ravens struggled a bit out of the gate in 1999, starting with a record of 4-7, but they rebounded in a big way down the stretch, finishing 8-8. The Ravens brought in Tony Banks to quarterback the team, along with wide receiver Qadray Ismail, both of whom played a major role in the team’s resurgence.
In Billick’s second season, he led the franchise to their first Super Bowl victory on the strength of one of the very best defenses in NFL history. Led by defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis, the Ravens set an NFL record for the least points allowed at 165.
The Ravens would go on to have only 3 losing seasons during Billick’s 9 year tenure, peaking with a franchise best 13-3 mark in 2006. After a disappointing playoff loss that year, followed by a 5-11 record in 2007, the Ravens decided to move on and hire a young special teams coach by the name of John Harbaugh to be their next head coach.
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