(Likely) Former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken is accepting blame for the puzzling regression of star quarterback Lamar Jackson this season, which was a significant reason why the Ravens missed the playoffs this season.
“I didn’t coach Lamar well enough,” Monken said Thursday in an appearance on the “Ryan Ripken Show.” “I didn’t have as good of a relationship as I could have. I didn’t do the things we needed to do this year to win enough games to give ourselves a chance. I believe that.”
Monken acknowledged that Jackson’s health also played a role in how things went, with the quarterback missing four games and failing to finish two more.
“I really wish Lamar would have been healthy and seen what we kept building on,” he said. “Where we went from ’23 to ’24, and then we just never got it going. That’s what you have to live with.”
Monken also pushed back on rumors that former Ravens head coach John Harbaugh had a strained relationship this season.
“I never saw Lamar and Coach Harbaugh not have a great relationship. I never saw that,” Monken said. “I never saw Coach Harbaugh and any of our players not have a great relationship. Never. Not one time.”
One thing that’ll never leave Monken from his time in Baltimore is losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship after not committing to run enough.
“I will always remember the Chiefs game, and that will be one that I will have to live with forever because you only get so many opportunities,” Monken said. “I don’t let it haunt [me]. I just won’t ever forget it.”
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.