Ebony Bird
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Marty Mornhinweg is under a lot of pressure to succeed

By Chris Schisler

OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 20: A Baltimore Ravens helmet sits on the bench during their game against the Oakland Raiders at O.co Coliseum on September 20, 2015 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 20: A Baltimore Ravens helmet sits on the bench during their game against the Oakland Raiders at O.co Coliseum on September 20, 2015 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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Will Marty Mornhinweg last the entire season as the Ravens offensive coordinator?

It puzzled many Ravens fans when John Harbaugh announced that Marty Mornhinweg was staying on as the offensive coordinator. For many fans, replacing the interim coordinator was an obvious call. Going into the season, it feels like he kept his job just because the franchise was tired of changing play-callers.

John Harbaugh is loyal, but he has fired two offensive coordinators. When he fired Cam Cameron, he was parting with one of his best friends. It was a move of desperation, and it saved a Super Bowl season. When Harbaugh fired Marc Trestman last season, it reeked of desperation. This time however, it wasn’t to save a season, it was to save his job.

Mornhinweg was the contingency plan for Trestman. They couldn’t justify parting with the former Chicago Bears coach after 2015. Injuries rattled the Ravens and put Trestman in a tough spot. In 2016, the Ravens got their justification when Trestman abandoned the run in a game against Washington. Mornhinweg took over and made the same frustrating play-calls.

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Now the Ravens have Greg Roman as part of their offensive coaching staff. Roman once was Jim Harbaugh’s offensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers. He was most recently the fall guy for Rex Ryan’s Buffalo Bills.

Roman is here to get Baltimore back to the ground game. However, its hard not to believe that Roman is the plan B. Would it be hard to imagine that Mornhinweg would lose his job the same way Trestman did?

This season could be John Harbaugh’s judgement day. If the offense sputters in the first portion of the season, Harbaugh may have no choice. The Ravens may not have wanted to change their play-caller but they clearly want to move in a different direction.

Fatigue of change isn’t usually a good reason not to fix a problem. In a perfect world, the Ravens offense changes for the better. In a perfect world Mornhinweg figures it out and Baltimore dissolves all traces of the Trestman philosophy.

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However we don’t always live in a perfect world. If Harbaugh sees the offense holding the team back, Mornhinweg would be the perfect sacrificial lamb. Mornhinweg is the offensive coordinator, but a mid-season change is not unimaginable at all.

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