Marty Mornhinweg cannot return as offensive coordinator next season

After almost two full seasons of Marty Mornhinweg as offensive coordinator, it’s time for the Baltimore Ravens to move on in a new direction.

The Ravens fired Marc Trestman early in 2016 after a Week 5 loss to the Washington Redskins. Quarterbacks coach Marty Mornhinweg took over the play-calling duties and has been in the role since. After failing to find balance on the offense in 2016, not much has changed the following year. The Ravens went from a lopsided pass-heavy team to a lopsided run-heavy team. What we saw was a mediocre offense that fared well and won their games against the sub .500 teams but went winless against playoff teams this year.

After failing to make the playoffs for the third straight season, changes have to be made inside the organization. There’s not a chance John Harbaugh is fired and it’s hard to see any changes made in the front office. If Harbaugh doesn’t go, his coordinators should. Dean Pees left on his own will but Marty Mornhinweg needs to be fired. Despite reports that Joe Flacco expects Mornhinweg to be the coordinator next season, this can’t be the direction the Ravens go in for another season.

To Mornhinweg’s credit, he hasn’t necessarily had the offensive tools to work with. The Ravens didn’t select a single offensive skill player in the 2017 NFL draft. The leading rusher was cut by the Seattle Seahawks and the two leading receivers were a combined 68 years old. It’s clear the offense hasn’t had the help but Mornhinweg hasn’t done enough on his part to help either.

Relying on the small ball

Joe Flacco, a $120 million quarterback, averaged just 5.7 yards per throw this season. He ranked in this category behind the likes of Brett Hundley, DeShone Kizer, Jay Cutler and even Jacoby Brissett. All of these quarterbacks have no business being starters in the NFL.

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Flacco has one of the biggest arms in the league, so where were the deep shots? The longest pass completed this season by Flacco was 66 yards, which ranked 23rd among NFL teams. This is a quarterback who can throw a 70-yard bomb with his eyes closed but we rarely saw Flacco given the opportunity to air out the football. Even if the pass isn’t always completed, the chances of defensive pass interference or holding are high. Yet, Flacco drew just four pass interference penalties for 72 yards the entire season.

The offense relied on short and intermediate routes, which is a frustrating philosophy to watch for 16 games. Take a look at the NFL’s Next Gen Stats to see Flacco’s pass distribution for each game and you’ll see the majority of completed passes inside 10-yards with rarely any deep passes completed above 20-yards. Whether it was a designed pass to the flats or a check-down by Flacco’s own will, it’s the majority of the passes we saw thrown. That’s exactly why Flacco ranks among the top quarterbacks in completion percentage but not in passing yards, touchdowns or average yard per pass thrown. There’s a reason it doesn’t add up.

Once teams know the Ravens rely on the short routes, it becomes extremely predictable. It makes it even easier knowing who Flacco is throwing to. Other than Danny Woodhead and Alex Collins, there’s not another playmaker on the Ravens offense that poses a threat in the short passing game. Ben Watson and Nick Boyle aren’t going to be breaking four or five tackles. The Ravens don’t have a LeSean McCoy or Alvin Kamara who can turn check-downs into 70-yard touchdowns. They haven’t had that threat since the days of Ray Rice.

This offensive philosophy doesn’t change with a new season unless there’s a new offensive coordinator on the sidelines.

Who should replace Marty?

I feel for Flacco. He’s had five different offensive coordinators since being drafted in 2008. But rather bring in an outside influence, the Ravens can promote in-house. The leading candidate I believe would best suit Flacco in the offense is senior offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Greg Roman. Roman joined the offensive staff this year after previously serving as offensive coordinator for the Bills and 49ers. He’s a fantastic offensive mind that knows how to bring balance and that’s what the Ravens are looking for.

While the Ravens do need balance, the run game is still going to be the primary weapon. Roman knows how to utilize that part of the offense and that’s arguably his biggest strength. The Bills averaged over 150 rushing yards per game under Roman’s reign as offensive coordinator during the 2015-2016 season. With Alex Collins under team control this season, he’ll have a very good chance to become the team’s first 1,000-yard rusher since Justin Forsett in 2014.

The Ravens are at their best when the ground game is the primary weapon but also when the passing game is complimentary. That’s been missing in the past years and needs to change.

The bottom line

John Harbaugh was loyal to his two coordinators and brought them back for 2017 season. If he can’t go down with the ship then Mornhinweg has to. The Ravens can’t enter a third straight season with the same offensive philosophy. Not only does that not bode well on the field but what kind of message does that send to fans who pay to see games? A good reason why attendance has been slim is that of the product on the field. Fans don’t want to spend $80+ watching check-downs the entire game and that’s just the reality of it.

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As much as the Ravens need to enter 2018 with new offensive playmakers, they need to do the same with their offensive coordinator.