Say it with me everyone, FLAVOR OF THE MONTH.

Garrett hasn't done anything. He just hasn't. He took over an already good offense in Dallas, and I'm convinced that Tony Sparano has just if much, if not more to do with their success.

None of the candidates that the Ravens have interviewed really impress me. They should've kept Billick.

Why the heat on Garrett? Seems to me that Romo had more to do with this than Garrett. Also seems to me your are blaming the OC for problems (IMO) were caused by bad leadership. Specifically the Head Coach. If I remember correctly, this has been a problem for Phillips in the past. However when the celebrity QB decides it's more important to take a vacation, not much JG can do about that, IMO.
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Mark,
Thanks for writing. My point is simply that it's a rush to judgment on anyone who has had the limited experience that Garrett has had. He's a bright guy (Princeton, Columbia) with a super football IQ but this has been going on for a month. More to the point, they got their clocks cleaned against Philly, which was the model for the Giants defensive scheme. Getting had by Jim Johnson and Steve Spanuolo in games that did matter within five weeks shows that Garrett may be good but not necessarily great.
-- Bill O.

I would have to agree. Most people termed "offensive genius" are a result of great talent on their teams. Billick received the crown because of players such as Randy Moss, who has now given the title to Josh McDaniels. When an offensive line can't block for Tony Romo anymore suddenly Garrett doesn't look like much of a genius.

Hey Bill,

It's hilarious...I was thinking the same thing to myself while i was watching the game last night.

To me as a Raven fan, a couple of things stood out the most.

1- Where's this offensive genuis I keep hearing about? and why hasnt his offense been able to:

a) Take advantage of the Giants secondary.

b) Adjust to the ultra aggresive Giants pass rush?...screen anyone?

2-Both Garret and Romo are a little bit overrated.

Hate to say it but, Schottenheimer may be the Ravens only viable option...for now, anyway. GO RAVENS!!

I guess Brian Billick was'nt that bad after all.
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Chuck,
If we're saying that a year from now, it's going to be pretty gloomy around here.
-- Bill O.

I don't think we should call anyone a offensive genius, especially with the ghost of Brian Billick still hovering over the team. I still think Rex Ryan would be the best choice for headcoach.

Sign him, he's the best on the board....

Please do not bring in a offensive head coach.

Promote Ryan to Head coach and bring in a good OC.

If what you're really asking is: "Should we still consider Garrett for the HC position, the answer, as far as I'm concerned, is "Yes".

If you watched the Dallas offense and saw a Brian Billick offense, then you're clearly seeing something totally different than I am. Garrett is the real deal, and Billick was not. If you have a tape of the game, go back and see how two dropped passes by Crayton altered the outcome of the game significantly.

And even the fact that while the game was going on, the specifics of what was said with regard to the O-line problems by the Dallas coaching staff (i.e. "The O-linemen are waiting to feel the contact from the D-linemen and backing up. FIRE OUT, and initiate the contact.") is light years ahead of the "adjustments" that Billick and Co. [never] made. Go look for some other sensationalistic drum to beat. You're way off base on this one, Bill.
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I didn't say that the schemes were the same .. just the results. The one field goal in the second half. And this isn't about comparing Garrett and Billick. It was an observation regarding the fact that a lot of folks have been making judgments about Jason Garrett based mainly on 12 games. The guy is obviously bright (Princeton, Columbia) and as I said to an earlier comenter, he has a super high football IQ. In the other hand, he struggled with this same defense five weeks against Philly and there were no dropped passes that accounted for zero TDs in that one. Yep, Crayton's drops were big, especially the first one. And Sparano gets a fair amount of blame himself. How do you have those o-line problems at home. I'm just saying if you get the guy, don't expect miracles. He may turn out to be the HOF coach Steve Bisciotti talks about. Or not.
-- Bill O.

Hire Rex Ryan period.

A little hasty getting rid of Billick, eh? And he was more qualified an offensive coordinator than Garrett. Billick had Moss in Minnesota, Garrett T.O. in Dallas. Why would we expect different results?

Think Baltimore should think out these decisions first? Think we should have looked at the personnel deficiencies before axing the coach? My how quickly this organization has turned into a laughingstock.

Our offesnse is nowhere near competing. Whoever our new heach coach is will need some help from Oz & Co. We are probably Ok w/ McGahee, but our QB & WR's are awful. An offense cannot go in the NFL w/out some sort of deep threat.

I wouldn't blame Garrett for the Boy's 5 O-linemen being unable to stop the rush of the Giants 4 down D-linemen. LT Flozell Adams looked slower to the edge than "Toe-less John" Ogden.

He would be a young coach for a Ravens team that must and will get younger, and he has demonstrated the ability to develop a young QB into an All-Pro. I just hope he is more Belichik than Wade Phillips in his approach to player discipline and focus.

Great point(s) Bill. The only thing I'd say is that although the execution wasn't there, it wasn't for lack of trying or creativity. They took a handfull of deep shots yesterday and were at least trying to balance Barber pounding the football with some deep and over the middle passes. In the case of the Ravens during the Brian Billick era, "creativity" was a word that only came up when describing either Marvin Lewis' defense, Mike Nolan's defense, or Rex Ryan's defense.
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Adam,
Thanks for writing. As I mentioned to another commenter, I wasn't trying to say these offensive schemes were at all similar. Not at all. Just that results were the same in the second half, meaning the one field goal. And I think Jason Garrett is still a great HC candidate. But we all -- I include myself -- can get a little overly enthusiastic about potential coaches.
-- Bill O.

If Jason Garrett is smart he will get the hell out of Dallas. They will never amount to squat until Jerry Jones quits coaching.
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Jon,
So you noticed him at Wade's elbow did you.
-- Bill O.

Maybe the Ravens will finally realize this and hire Rex Ryan

HES A GINGER!!!!!!!!!!
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Oh, you South Park fans.
-- Bill O.

To many people miss the point of picking a head coach. It doesn't matter if the person is an offensive or defensive genius. A good head coach should be a true leader who commands respect. Offenses and defenses can be changed but if you are lucky enough to have a true leader in charge it makes so many other things easier. I don't care how old the next coach is or how well their offense or defense has played recently - I want a leader, period. Personally, I liked Harbaugh as he sounded like a leader to me. But the reality is that you simply don't know how a person will be as a head coach until they are a head coach. Keep in mind that even Schottenheimer could fail here if he didn't get the team behind him.
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Ben,
Well said. Like you, I like Harbaugh. Probably second to Rex Ryan. Harbaugh reminds me of another young assistant I covered a long time ago named Jeff Fisher. And you're point is well taken, you don't know until the person is doing the job.
-- Bill O.

First of all, Bill, I'm pretty confident that Garrett got into those schools on athletics (and the fact his father was a coach there probably didn't hurt), so stop using that as a sign of his intelligence. He may be a very bright guy, I'm not trying to take anything away from him, but stop using the college thing as proof. More to the point, I don't think we can go wrong with either Schottenheimer or Garrett. Marty will bring the discipline this team so desperately needs (which will hopefully cut the obscene number of penalties), and probably Cam Cameron. Garrett will bring the excitement and fire that we've lacked recently, and I agree with the sentiment that it was his team, not him, that underachieved. He'll do just fine revamping the Ravens' O.

if the ravens hire garret it will be because he's smart and has got that "football iq", as bill o. states over and over. personally, i wouldn't think his teams sub-par performance over the last few weeks would have a negative impact on the raven's projection of him as a head coach... otherwise, would the ravens really be considering brian schottenheimer coming off a 4-12 season?

by the way, i think firing billick was the right move. anyone else think the ravens should have moved quick enough to consider rex ryan as head coach and bringing in mike martz as offensive coordinator before he was snatched up by SF?

Marty and Singletary are the only two people who I see coming in here nad bringing results. Garrett would be winning the head coaching position based off of the same credentials as when Billick was hired and they were overrated. Billick also used more variety and creativity in Minnesota. Balancing the attack with Robert Smith, utilizing Jake Reed in the slot. Then, of course, going deep to Moss and Carter. Anderson missed a field goal, otherwise, they would have went to the super bowl. Was that Billick's fault? So, for those who want to make excuses for Garrett, you need to look at our history and think again.

Who will bring more discipline, respect from the veterans and have this team ready to play under all conditions(Less penalties, less turnovers rain or shine) than Marty and Mike. At least, off what's on the board for us to choose from.

While I do feel that it was time for Billick(Only because he was not giving up his playcalling duties under any circumstances), I also feel that more thought should have been put into not only a replacement, but one that would improve the team. Forget Garrett and Forget McDaniels who would have the job based off of default credentials(The greatest offense in History). Just because he came from belichick, let's not dawn him the next coming.

By the way, if it isn't Garrett's fault for Creighton dropping passes, then it isn't Marty's fault Rivers wasn't quite ready for a more explosive offense in the playoffs last year. It's not Marty's fault his coordinator forgot about LT against the Patriots last year either.

Singletary is the real gem, please don't sleep on him front office.

I think that getting garrett would still be a good hire but he isnt coming to a team with Tony romo and Terrel Owens. He's got Kyle Boller and Mark Clayton, so his success could be harder to acheive unless we have a very successful offseason

Personally, I want Garrett as our next coach because I think he's the best candidate available. Right now, Dallas is Wade Phillips show, so we have to take results down there with a grain of salt... also, Romo is extremely inconsistent and doesn't seem to approach the game from the intellectual/studious manner Garrett's system probably requires (although I hear Mexico's lovely this time of year).

My one issue with Garrett is the fact Parcells is going so much harder after Sparano than him. What does Parcells know that we don't?
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TB,
Sparano and Parcells are friendly. Sparano was on Parcells' staff when Jones hired Garrett. Get it. You have to figure in the human factor. People hire people with whom they are comfortable.
-- Bill O.

No to Jason Garrett! Don't understand the fascination with someone with so little coaching experience. And, I felt the same way watching the Cowboys yesterday - poor clock management, play calling, decisions, and penalties did remind me of Billick's offense! However, that being said, it was the infamous "prevent defense" at the conclusion of the first half that allowed the Giants to tie the game with barely more than a minute left, which completely changed the momentum and tenor of the game. Can't blame that on Garrett!

If not Garrett, then who? Who would do a better job? Schottenheimer? Schottenheimer, Jr. Ryan? Caldwell? Cowher? McDaniels? Grimm? Someone else? It's a crap shoot any way you look at it. Billick was the hottest coach on the market and won a Super Bowl in year two then tanked. Why? Turner has never been able to beat the little sisters of the poor but knocks off Indy and goes to the AFC title game. Why? Who appears to be the best young coach with the best upside right now? Gotta be Garrett. So, go get him and roll the dice.

To all of you billick defenders. Jason Garretts offense had one bad month. Brian Billick's offense has had nine bad YEARS. Brian Billick is one of the worst coaches in the league bar none. The only thing covering it up is the fact that he has multiple hall of famers on both sides of the ball. More importantly to me than fixing this offense will be having a coach who can have a disciplined team, and one that can manage the clock

Rex Ryan deserves the shot. The Ravens' offensive talent is, well, offensive. Without an athletic quarterback who makes good decisions, anyone can be in trouble. Romo suddenly makes some bad decisions and Garrett doesn't seem so pretty now, does he? Garret may have the mind for this job, but a head coach needs to be a leader, organizer, motivator of players AND coaches. I think Ryan can do that for sure. Whether or not Garret can, who knows? But Shottenheimer would ruin this veteran team by exhaustiing them, just like all his temas, by December. The Ravens ought to be careful about falling in love with Garret. As a head coach, there isn't all the time in the world to be an offensive coordinator. You need to be much more than that to lead a team with Ray Lewis, JO, Ed Reed and McAllister.

Great piece, Bill. The recent performance by the Dallas offense has certainly raised some questions about Garrett. Also, the Cowboys' talent factor can't be ignored. Even Jon Ogden (on his radio show) questioned the legitimacy of Garrett's success based on talent the Cowboys have on offense.
I won't accuse Garrett of being "another Brian Billick", but I will say this: It doesn't take much for a team to make a coach look good, but it's rare that you find the opposite. With that said, I hope the Ravens find a solid coach that brings back team fundamentals (like discipline and unity/faith) that they lacked this season. That's the most I can hope for at this point. I have confidence that Steve, Ozzie, and Dick will make the right call.
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Dan,
Thanks for writing. You said something that I t thought was important, about how a team may make a coach look good but rarely in reverse. When you said that, I thought of Jeff Fisher in Tennessee.
-- Bill O.

I agree with Bill O., Garrett should not be called a offensive genius based on what he can produce given he has weapons like Tony Romo & Terrell Owens. Given what we have for talent in Baltimore no one is going to come in here and make a big difference without a change in personnel. And we should all know by now that a offensive minded coach does not make a good offense. Billick let the guys get out of control and the veterans had no respect for him in the locker room. The team is in need of discipline and someone that can get the buy-in of the veterans. Sounds like the resume of Rex Ryan to me.

I rather have the Packers OC Joe Philbin for Head Coach. I didn't realize how boring the Ravens offense was until I watched the Packers. With all the motion the Packers do I wonder if our O line can stand still that long without jumping. I recall many times when Billick tried to use motion we got false start penalties. I think he gave up and just tried to keep it simple.

Billicks time was done. The team doesn't need an Offensive or Defensive Genius. They need an effective leader, motivator, manager and disciplinarian to be the next head coach. I think Marty can do this and bring along a crew of successful coordinators to make this team competetive again. Rex Ryan isn't going to get a Head Coach job this year so hopefully he can land the DEF Coordinator job under the new head coach; it doesn't seem to me he's going to get the head job here in Bmore. Garrett, Sparano, Caldwell and Mcdaniels would all be bust here.

I agree that we don't need an "offensive genius" head coach. Rex would be a good fit because the players play hard for him. We could replace Ryan at defensive coordinator with Harbaugh, which would be a promotion from his current job as secondary coach with the Eagles. Then we could find our own Jason Garrett to be offensive coordinator. There has to be some well regarded young assistant coaches in the league that we could take a chance on.

Ryan is just more of the same. How many times do we need Suggs to jump offsides or mccalister to do something crazy? Fresh blood is a good thing. We need a clean break from the Billick regime.

Everyone including myself is harping on the lack of discipline issue. Big, but not hard to overcome. The questions that linger in my mind are really more about the supporting coaches that these guys will bring in to teach his techniques. The draft picks the team needs and the order that they address those needs. The new coach will probably be given a check book to go out and revamp this team. The players that seem to be non-conformist will surely be forced out into the open and hopefully cut , waived, traded or retire. The genius qualities needed are those of player potential with the system he chooses to use and the willingness to adapt, learn, perform and maintain. True competitors never look solely within themselves they look for whatever edge or advantage needed to succeed, within reason and legally. The HC job is important and Marty may have been a better choice with Cam calling the shots. I expect them to make a decision ASAP as the other positions for assistants will need to be addressed. Plus the Braintrust should consider the time line of the up coming draft, charts and just as important the free agent market. Clearly these areas will be leading indicators as to the direction of the team for many years to come. One hit wonder or dynasty. Lastly with the salary cap in bad shape these moves will not be sweeping but should address the fundamental changes in play calling and talent to get the job done. Something Billick never developed here as HC.

Garrett certainly is an upgrade. Personally, I like Marty--but he probaly would not be around long enough to groom a successor. Also,
Model fired him in Cleveland because he would not hire an offensive coordinator.
Billick said the execution wasn't there--we know that the game plan wasn't there. We had no x's and o's guy on staff. With Garrett, it is clear that we will have a more wide open game plan--the first time since the Testeverde years. The execution will be the problem area--too many inexperienced guys on the offensive lline and in the secondary. A hugh QB hole and too many older and/or injury prone veterans. Personally, I like Todd Heap--I don't like his lost time due to a significant susceptibility to injury. Finally, I hope Garrett will stand in there, tell the veterans he's the leader and tell the players the whats, whens, and wheres of off-season practicing and conditioning. If the players don't like it--look somewhere else for a high paying job to essentially play a kids game.

As a Raven fan from Day 1 I believe we need to hire a current defensive coordinator as the Head Coach if we are looking to get someone that will be a Head Coach for the first time. If you look over the years it really didn't matter who the defensive coordinator was the Ravens defense has always been a top defense. With that in mind hiring someone like Rex Ryan wouldn't be a bad idea because whomever he names as defensive coordinator will have a defensive scheme already in place that the players are comfortable with. The only thing he would need to do is hire a good Offensive Coordinator that will concentrate on the offense only, and also someone if not the offensive coordinator needs to be hired to groom the young QBs. I can't believe we are heading into the same direction as we did with Billick, wanting to hire a guy from a team with a great wide receiver and a QB that has been good for two year. This is similiar to Billick having Moss, Carter, when Randall Cunnigham had his great season at QB for the Vikings. Another thing that needs to be noted is that 5 of the last 6 superbowl winners had head coaches that were former defensive coordinators. 2007 - Dungy, 2006 - Cower, 2005;2004;2002 - Belichick

In 2003 Tampa won with a former Offensive Coordinator as the head coach but like the Ravens in 2001 Tampa won with a dynamic defense.

But like someone said in a earlier post Jason Garrett is just the flavor of the month and is the top choice. The NFL is a cut throat profession. You have a guy like Rex Ryan whom the players respect and believes in and he was one of the top candidates for jobs last year but decided to stay with the ravens, but our top candidate is a guy with 3 years under his belt that I'm not sure he could handle Ray Lewis and other players breathing down his back if things go wrong...I think he would crack under that pressure, but that's my opinion.