The top 5 offensive coordinators in Baltimore Ravens history

Every team, no matter how consistent are effective they are on offense. Even if the team in question averages 30 points per game, fans will complain about the offensive line and play-calling. 70% of the time, those are just the bloviations of overreacting fans. The rest of the time, those issues are justified. Hence, the Baltimore Ravens.

For nearly their entire history, the Ravens have been in the latter camp, as they have had to watch average to below-average offenses alongside some of the best defenses in NFL history. When Baltimore has had solid OC performance, those coaches are often hired away by other teams quickly.

Even in such a cluttered and wild history, there have been enough moments of brilliance to help the Ravens win two Super Bowls. These five coordinators stand out as the best the franchise has ever had, though this list could be changed if Todd Monken starts to get into a groove.

Criteria for selection

These coordinators were chosen based on a combination of:

• Offensive performance
• Impact on Winning
• Did the Ravens get worse when they left?

The top 5 offensive coordinators in Baltimore Ravens history

5. Todd Monken (2023-)

Monken won out when compared to Gary Kubiak, who guided the Ravens to some of the best numbers of their then-19-year-long history in 2014 before becoming a Super Bowl-winning head coach in Denver. Monken's work updating the offense from Greg Roman's inefficient scheme and helping Lamar Jackson improve helped him win out.

The former Georgia OC helped Jackson win an MVP for the second time in his career, perfectly blending his aggressive, vertical scheme. The Ravens were fourth in the league in points per game, and Jackson looked as sharp as ever as a passer. Baltimore had the best record in the AFC and was one win away from a Super Bowl

With a few more solid seasons, Monken is poised to vault right near the top of this list.

4. Cam Cameron (2008-2012)

Cameron became infamous in the NFL in the 2012 season, when he was fired despite the Ravens having a 9-4 record at the time. The ending was quite sour, and his offense was clearly limiting Joe Flacco, but Cameron's overall body of work with the Ravens wasn't terrible.

Baltimore ranked between ninth and 12th in points four times when Cameron was the OC, twice building a top-five rushing offense when Ray Rice was at his peak. Ultimately, his inability to take Flacco to the next level as a passer is what did him in and prompted the firing.

Cameron's time with the Ravens showed that he was perfectly adept at raising the floor of a unit that lacked a ton of dynamic playmakers all the time, but he lacked the creative edge needed to take them from good to great.

3. Matt Cavanaugh (1999-2004)

Cavanaugh was instrumental in the success of Jamal Lewis, and he constructed a unit that was just efficient enough to win a Super Bowl. Cavanaugh is the longest-tenured OC in franchise history, but that fact is not necessarily a badge of honor due to how the last few seasons went.

The post-Dilfer years were not kind to Cavanaugh, as head coach Brian Billick was routinely ripped for not changing coordinators despite poor performance. Ultimately, the pairing of Cavanaugh and bust quarterback Kyle Boller is what prompted the Ravens to move on to Super Bowl XXXV loser Jim Fassell (yikes!) after the Giants let him go.

With Billick coming from the most high-octane passing attack known to man in Minnesota, Cavanaugh's basic and conservative offense wasn't what fans expected. Still, he was just good enough to get them to the promised land, which makes him good enough for No. 3 on this list.

2. Greg Roman (2019-2022)

Yep, folks. That's how bad this is. Roman is an interesting case study, as he was brought on to get the most out of Lamar Jackson's unique style. As cringeworthy as his play-calling and design were, Roman was cooking during the first few seasons of Jackson's career.

Baltimore was in the postseason often, Jackson set all sorts of quarterback rushing records, and he won an MVP. Roman, who coached Colin Kaepernick in San Franciso and Tyrod Taylor in Buffalo, was a specialist brought on to do a specific job, and he built an offense that was impossible to slow down early on.

The problems came during the final two seasons, when Roman's rudimentary passing game started to catch up with him. The Los Angeles Chargers hired him and brought a half-dozen of his former Ravens on board as they try to recapture his late 2010s magic before it all went sour.

1. Jim Caldwell (2012-13)

When Cameron was fired in 2012, Caldwell, fresh off getting replaced as the head coach of the Colts following the "Suck for Luck" season, was named as his replacement. Caldwell knows a thing or two about offensive football, as he coached in college and the pros since 1978 and served as Peyton Manning's quarterbacks coach for seven seasons.

Caldwell didn't produce revolutionary results in the regular season, but the postseason is where he really took off. Baltimore scored at least 24 points in every game, while Flacco hit at least 235 passing yards despite daunting road games against Manning's Broncos and Tom Brady's Patriots.

The immense struggles of Rice and Bernard Pierce (and poor offensive roster construction in general) made it tough to get any flow going in 2013, but Caldwell managed to squeeze every ounce of talent out of that team. He was then hired to serve as Lions head coach for four seasons, leaving Detroit with a winning record.

Caldwell was the right man at the right time for the Ravens, and his playoff coordinating will never be forgotten. Still occupying a very valuable role as an offensive coach in Carolina, Caldwell is one of the most respected and effective offensive minds the game has ever seen.

Every offensive coordinator in Baltimore Ravens history