Greg Roman’s departure ushers in a new, more hopeful era for the Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens and Greg Roman are parting ways after a disappointing 2022 season, marking a colossal shift that could point the Ravens’ offense in a wholly new direction.

On Thursday, NFL’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported that Roman was leaving the Ravens’ organization. Roman had one year remaining on his contract but “decided to step down as offensive coordinator,” though it’s not immediately clear if the feelings were mutual.

Regardless of the semantics, Roman is out. This is the second straight season in which the Ravens have let one of their coordinators go, and while Roman’s departure poses as a monumental change, it doesn’t come as too much of a surprise.

For the last two years, the Ravens fanbase has grown increasingly frustrated over Roman’s play-calling despite Roman receiving head coach John Harbaugh’s continued support.

After leading the Ravens to a historic 2019 season in which Lamar Jackson won NFL MVP and Baltimore set numerous rushing records, Roman was heralded as the perfect fit for the Ravens who could maximize Jackson’s strengths in ways no other play-caller could.

Now, it appears as though Roman’s run-heavy offense has plateaued. Like his earlier stints in San Francisco and Buffalo, Roman was unable to build a consistent passing attack in Baltimore, and Jackson’s injury-plagued past two seasons didn’t do Roman any favors.

Jackson or no Jackson, Roman’s inability to fix the Ravens’ persistent scoring issues in 2022 may have served as the final nail in the coffin.

Greg Roman steps down as OC after six seasons, Ravens fans everywhere rejoice

John Harbaugh is entering his 16th NFL season and will be looking for his seventh offensive coordinator with the identity of the Ravens’ offense potentially taking an entirely new shape.

Harbaugh released a statement afterward thanking Roman for his contributions for the last six seasons:

Roman’s tenure in 2022 was shaky at best and characterized by one alarming trait: how much Ravens fans truly and completely loathed him.

At one point during the season, someone scattered “Fire Greg Roman” flyers outside the Ravens’ facility, which was arguably the peak of fans’ frustrations and desire for a personnel change.

This past year, Baltimore continually struggled with play clock issues and red zone execution issues; the Ravens still ran the ball at an efficient rate, but their offense had painfully become one-dimensional and unable to compete with other AFC powerhouses.

Per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley, the Ravens’ scoring had decreased in each of Roman’s four seasons as an offensive coordinator, dropping from an NFL-best 33.2 points per game in 2019 to 20.6 points per game in 2022 (19th in the league).

Ultimately, the Ravens’ offensive regression was too obvious to ignore, and now both Baltimore and Roman will get fresh starts in 2023.

What’s next for the Ravens’ offense? Finding the right play-caller will be key, but that process is made more complicated by Lamar Jackson’s ongoing contract saga.

Best of luck to Roman to his future endeavors. Most Ravens fans are nonetheless thinking the same thing right now: “Thank goodness.”