The Baltimore Ravens are coming off their worst offensive performance of the Lamar Jackson era in what was a disastrous 22-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Thursday Night Football.
There was plenty of criticism to go around following the team’s upset loss. The offensive line, running backs, and wide receivers (mainly Sammy Watkins) all caught some blame for the Ravens’ offensive ineptitude.
But no one received a greater amount of blame than offensive coordinator Greg Roman.
Roman was criticized for an uninspiring game plan and a failure to adapt to Miami’s blitz-heavy approach. Despite countless Cover 1 and Cover 0 looks, Roman and the Ravens had no answer for the Dolphins’ defense.
The results weren’t pretty.
Roman has done plenty of great things during his time in Baltimore. He’s helped revolutionize one of the best rushing attacks in NFL history and aided in the development of former MVP Lamar Jackson.
It wasn’t long ago that he was receiving head coach consideration. But there are plenty who believe that Roman’s days with the Ravens should be coming to an end.
There’s no indication that Roman is truly on the hot seat, but if the fans were to get what they wanted and the veteran coordinator was to be fired, who might be pegged as his replacement?
Let’s take a look at four potential replacements for Greg Roman.
4. Tee Martin, wide receivers coach, Baltimore Ravens
Following the departure of David Culley in the offseason, the Ravens needed to find a new wide receivers coach. And given the lack of production the team had gotten from the position, the individual they were bringing in was going to have his work cut out for him.
They ultimately decided on longtime collegiate assistant Tee Martin who had most recently served as the assistant head coach and wide receivers coach at the University of Tennessee.
Martin is a former quarterback who was drafted in the fifth round by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2000 NFL Draft. He lasted just a couple of years in the NFL before finding his way into the coaching ranks.
He’s had separate stints with Power 5 schools like Kentucky, USC, and later Tennessee building a solid reputation as a coach players love to work with.
And that reputation has followed him to Baltimore.
Martin, along with pass-game specialist Keith Williams, has received plenty of praise this season for his work with the Ravens’ wide receiver group.
Marquise Brown has made significant strides and is on pace for not only the best season of his career but the best season by a wide receiver in Ravens franchise history.
Other young players such as Rashod Bateman, Devin Duvernay, and James Proche have looked good this year and you could easily argue this is the best wide receiver corps the Ravens have ever had.
Could the Ravens reward Martin for his efforts with a promotion to offensive coordinator? If they’d rather keep their search internal, he would easily be one of the top candidates.
3. Pep Hamilton, passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach, Houston Texans
Pep Hamilton has reignited his career and established himself as one of the best offensive minds in football following a stint as the head coach of the XFL’s DC Defenders.
Most expected Hamilton to receive an offensive coordinator job in the offseason, but he surprisingly received somewhat of a lateral move when he was hired by the Houston Texans to be their passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
The former Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator had served as the quarterbacks coach for Justin Herbert in Los Angeles prior to joining the Texans, and he received interviews for other coordinator jobs in the offseason.
It was certainly odd to see Hamilton join the Texans, but most feel like it’s a formality at this point that he receives an offensive coordinator job.
And who wouldn’t love the opportunity to come work with Lamar Jackson in Baltimore?
Hamilton has been coaching for the better part of two decades, but his only stint as an offensive coordinator in the NFL came with the Colts from 2013-2015.
His specialty has been quarterbacks as he’s helped develop the likes of Herbert, Jay Cutler, Alex Smith, and Chad Pennington over the years.
But he’s never worked with someone like Lamar Jackson.
On top of that, Hamilton is good friends with John Harbaugh’s brother, Jim, and served as his assistant head coach and passing game coordinator from 2017-2018 as well as in 2010 as his wide receivers coach at Stanford.
If Hamilton is looking for an offensive coordinator job again this offseason, there might not be many better options than the Ravens.
2. James Urban, quarterbacks coach, Baltimore Ravens
Another potential internal option is quarterbacks coach James Urban. Urban has been with the Ravens since 2018 and perhaps no person has been more instrumental in the development of Lamar Jackson as he has.
The longtime Cincinnati Bengals assistant coach has done great work with Jackson and is familiar with the entire offensive staff which would seemingly make him a great choice as the team’s next offensive coordinator.
The advantage to hiring Urban is obvious.
He has experience not only with the current Ravens offensive personnel, but with the coaching staff as well. You wouldn’t need to employ a full-on offensive staff overhaul if Urban was promoted.
On top of that, he’s worked with Greg Roman long enough that he could implement some of the successful elements of his coaching genius.
Roman’s approach to the running game might not be able to be replicated by someone like Urban or Hamilton who specializes in quarterbacks.
But Urban’s experience with Roman will allow him to deploy a best-of-both-worlds strategy. After all, despite the endless amount of flack Roman gets, he deserves a lot of credit for his run-game genius.
The downside is that Urban has never called plays at any level before and has never been more than a position coach. This would be a major step-up for him.
But his experience with the organization could be enough to make up for that.
1. Ken Dorsey, passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach, Buffalo Bills
Ken Dorsey has quickly established himself as one of the best offensive minds in football and someone who many believe will be receiving a well-deserved promotion in the near future.
There’s even been talk that Dorsey could skip the coordinator phase altogether and become an NFL head coach before long. Let’s just assume that doesn’t happen, though.
Let’s assume he’s looking for an offensive coordinator job in the offseason. The Ravens make a ton of sense as a potential landing spot, much like Dorsey makes sense for them.
A former NFL quarterback, Dorsey played six years in the NFL split between the San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns.
His first coaching job actually came at the NFL level when he joined the Carolina Panthers coaching staff as their quarterbacks coach in 2013.
He would hold that title until 2017 when he was fired as part of a mass overhaul of the offensive coaching staff. After a year spent at FIU, Dorsey was hired by the Buffalo Bills to be their quarterbacks coach.
He’s held that title ever since and even received a promotion to passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2021. His greatest success has undoubtedly come with his work with Josh Allen.
Dorsey took a raw, inexperienced Allen and helped turn him into one of the best quarterbacks in football. Allen himself as directly credited Dorsey for helping him grow and develop as a player.
If he wants a greater role and a chance to work with another top-tier quarterback, he could join the Ravens and work hand-in-hand with Lamar Jackson.
The potential caveat here is that if Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll is hired to be a head coach (which seems likely), Dorsey might just receive an in-house promotion.
But if not, and if he’s looking elsewhere for a promotion, the Ravens could come calling.