The Baltimore Ravens won’t be making any big changes in the coaching staff or their front office after the Ravens 5-11 season. The “State of the Ravens” press conference gave some interesting answers, but ultimately this was the takeaway message.
The Ravens are comfortable with the way their organization is constructed. In Ozzie Newsome and Eric DeCosta they have two smart football minds that work together to build and restore the roster. In John Harbaugh they have a great leader who has confidence and the kind of enthusiasm that only a Harbaugh can have.
So the Ravens are keeping the band together. The truth is that a bad season in the NFL is almost inescapable and it is clear that Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti knows this. His calming message was clearly that continuity is the key to winning in the NFL. This quote from Bisciotti in the press conference may be the most telling line:
"“One thing that I’m proud of is that we all view continuity as a strength,” Bisciotti said. “Continuity doesn’t stem from laziness. It comes from confidence. And I believe in these guys. So I have a lot of faith that we’ll get it straightened out.” (From baltimoreravens.com)"
The Cleveland Browns fire coaches and general managers left and right. The Ravens don’t want to fall into the same trap. In the eyes of the Ravens brass, the ship is not going to sink it just needs some patchwork.
What the Ravens need more than anything is more talent on the field and healthier star players. The Ravens had 20 players on injured reserve. Many of those injuries were to key players. If this season has any lasting lesson it is that they can never have enough quality depth.
The Ravens need to fix their secondary and give Joe Flacco some premier talent to throw the football to. There will be attempted upgrades to the roster but their will not be upheaval in the coaching staff or front office.
The Ravens have never been a franchise that was willing to give into a knee-jerk reaction. They never have made decisions in the heat of frustration. At the end of the day we have to trust Newsome and DeCosta. We have to trust Harbaugh and his staff. The Ravens leaders have spoiled this fan base for a long time. We cannot throw away what we have just because of a horrific season.
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Only time will tell if the Ravens brass is living off their past accomplishments or betting on proven winners to win again. The Ravens have a lot of work to do moving forward but they won’t fix what is not broken.