Todd Monken's Introductory Press Conference

of all, thank some people. Thank the candidates that were involved. We had some amazing candidates that we had a chance to talk to, both college and pro coaches. Now want to thank them for their time, their effort, and for their work in the interview process. I also want to thank the committee. We had a committee led by coach Anthony Weaver who did a great job. Steve Claggett was on the committee and Scott Cohen was on the committee. And those guys interviewed Todd, and they interviewed all the

other candidates too, pretty thoroughly. So I appreciate those guys ephy and they weighed in on the decision all the recommendations and calls and and conversations that we had with different people about all the different candidates. Want to thank all those people too, because it was a big It was a big help. You know. We made a decision to throw a big net out there, and uh and when you do that, when you cast a big net, you know, it's a big undertaking and it comes with challenges.

You know, it's um there's a lot of calls, there's a lot of conversations, there's a lot of information gathering. A lot of people in the building helped us with that. We got to know a lot of people. We got to know their stats, we got to know their families, their backgrounds, all those kind of things we had. We had the zoom meetings with with everybody on a first level. Then we had in person meetings with a pretty pretty big group of guys that were here at the building

and really enjoyed that. And it gets emotional, you know.

I mean, this is a it's a career opportunity for a lot of coaches, and you kind of go through that with them, you know, and things are moving fast and things are happening, and people are getting pressure in different directions and I kind of wrote that roller coaster with different guys, but there's a lot of rewards that go with it too, and just personally, it was a great experience, a chance to get to know some people really well that I didn't know before, Todd obviously being

one of those, but also all the other candidates that were involved got to know their families. In some cases, got to learn a lot of football, you know, in different ways that people do things, whether it's systems or how they approach it, or how they relate to their players, how they run their no huddle offenses. I mean, all those things are things that were, you know, just interesting

and valuable. And you get to find out and you realize that there's a lot of great coaches in this profession, a lot of great people in this profession, both in the NFL and at the college level, and it made me feel great to be a part of the profession, to get to know these people. And then it came back to Todd Munkin and it started with a call I got. Todd doesn't even know this. It started with a call that I got from my sister, Jonie Crean

and Tom Creed because when Todd was to Georgia. The last couple of years, Johnie and Tom got to know Todd and his wife and Terry, and they got to be friends, I think, you know, and spend a lot of time together. And Jonie just tells me, you've got to talk to Todd Monka. He's amazing, his wife's amazing. He's a great coach. We've seen what he's done here at Georgia. Got on the phone with Tom. Tom reiterated that how much you respected Todd, and that really got

me thinking in that direction. So we reached out and had a chance to talk to Todd, and I think on the phone first and then the Zoom meeting, just talking ball, really talking background. We're kind of both from the Midwest originally, but so we know a lot of the same people. And I'd know Todd from Afar, you know,

I'd watched him coach, we'd coached against each other. But then just talking ball, and just how how how really great, how extensive his knowledge is, how broad his knowledge is, how how adaptable he is, how versatile he is in terms of what he's able to do with his with

his exits and nose and his scheme stuff. So the ability to move in different kind of systems, different kind of types of football, different personnel groups, run game, pass, game protection RPOs, quarterback driven stuff, downhill run game play, action stuff tied to it, all the stuff that we're kind of looking for, different kind of tempos, huddle, no huddle, real fast, controlled tempo, call plays at the line, don't

call plays at the line. I mean, these are all things that you talk about, things that he brings to the table. He's really, I just think, very versatile with and that's gonna be very valuable for us. So that part of it, the relationship part of it was really good too. You know, you talk to different people that have been around Todd, players especially, but also coaches. He's just got a great way with players. He's got a

great way in the meeting room. He's very talented in the meeting room, gets the guys going, gets them laughing a little bit, You'll see. You know, he can talk and he can tell a story, but he can challenge the guys too and hold him to the highest standard. I know our players are gonna love him, are gonna love being around him every single day. And also I think, finally, I guess the biggest part for me you know, character obviously, relationships obviously, but the ability to and the focus on

building an offense around the talent that you have. Not necessarily a one system type of an approach. This is our system when we fit the players to the system, but a player driven approach that we're going to build a system around the players and around the you know, around the personality of the team. I think our fan base is going to be really excited with what we see from this offense going forward. I know I am.

So we're gonna get started today and I guess with no further ado, I'm going to introduce to you our new offensive coordinator, Todd Munkin. Thank you and a big shout out to Steve Biscotti and obviously coach and Eric, to Costa and Sashi, you know, they were all part

of it. So excited, excited to get started, and you know, we got a lot of work ahead of us, obviously starting with staff and then obviously putting a plan together, building off of what's been really successful in the past, Power Run game play Action and then trying to build off that and us So it's been exciting. I've been here since last Wednesday, so it's been fun to get started, and I know it's going to go fast, so we have a lot of work ahead of us. Tom I

knew obviously could have seed at Georgia. I think it was pretty well known about that. What mean what made this so appulate? Well, why did you do this job? Were you awaiting? I think versus the challenge doing against the best in the world, I think everybody aspires to have that challenge. Um, if I was going to do it, it was going to be somewhere that was parallel to Georgia.

Part of the reason I went to Georgia, one of the main reasons was because a culture head coach winning really good on defense obviously trying to find a way to do it better on offense. So I thought that was a parallel that I thought fit me. Um, So, irrespective of who was or wasn't going to be on the roster, I felt like it was. It was something I really wanted to do, and then I've always wanted

to do. So that doesn't mean that I'm not grateful for Kirby Smart and the coaches that I worked with there. I get way too much credit for our success. I came in there and the culture was already set, the players were already recruited. The staff that we put together was tremendous in terms of our success. But this was what was next. And you can't be two places at once. That's just the way it is sometimes in life. That

was a great job and it was hard. You get close to the players, but you can't be two places at once. And this is what's next here in Baltimore. You have to be able to coach more about hot profile players in Lamar Jackson if you had a chance to talk to him. Yet. I really haven't a chance

to talk to any of the players you know yet. Really, just getting here last Wednesday, just trying to get my feet wet, working through a lot of things that come from staff, what we're gonna do moving forward, all that, Just trying to figure out where I'm headed when I drive to the facility coaching the NFL. What do you learn over these last three years waiting in the highest that can take away to take yourself. I think the

game's changed. I think the game has become more of a space game, using all fifty three and a third yards and using the width and depth of the field, using space players and your skill players I think that's changed. Years ago, maybe it was inside zone and run duo downhill. Now it's utilizing athletic quarterbacks. The game has changed. It's changing from you know, one time it was taller you know, pocket passers, and now you're seeing more shorter athletic players.

The game has changed in terms of using their athleticism, using players athleticisms, what they what they bring to the table. Um because the game is about space, it's about being explosive. Well, how do you create explosives? Well, part of it is creating space, So that's probably the biggest thing is how do you find a way to incorporate that into your offense. I think also being no huddle some tempo um, what that provides that creates because we were all no huddle.

It's a little different then because of the dynamics of a signal system and then you know the green dot to the quarterbacks. You have to work through some of that that'll take some working through. But um, just a it's a speedbump, not a hurdle. John, how you're you're not with it to a system, but you you you build your office around the talent that you have. And I've heard that over and over from from people I talk to you who work with you. Is that a

philosophy that you had from early on? Like I know, I mean, I know your dad was a longtime coach. I mean, is that something you learned from him or where did that come from? That approach? Uh? Well, first of all, I learned a lot from my dad, but at that age I probably wasn't you know. I was just happy to be on the field and be a water boy. And all my heroes were my dad's players. I mean, that's what you are when you're a coach's kid, is and it's not always the players are the best players.

I learned this. This one thing I learned from my dad and some coaches is that And you try to tell the players and coaches, is that, um, you know, young people's favorite players at first start off to be the best players, but then eventually it's the ones that make you feel special. And so that's your job is to make people feel special, and that you know you're job is for them. You know you have a job for them. That's why you have a job, is to create the best version of them. And the moment we

forget that, we're wrong, we're dead wrong. You know, I think when they say adapt to the personnel you have, let's start off by this. Everything works better with really good personnel, So let's start with that, irrespective of what that may look like from running back, tight end, receiver. And I've been really lucky to be a lot a lot of really good coaches that I was a part

of that. You know, one time I was at Louisiana Tech and that was when Gary Croton and they were spread, and that's when it started off with bubbles and getting

the ball out in the perimeter. And then I went with less miles and his fourth and four was just tossing to Jacob Hester like it was power run game and inside run was thirty minutes, and you practice for three hours, and there's certain aspects of all of that that you gather that you learn from and you take that and what you realize is that good football still surrounded by don't turn it over, be explosive, score touchdowns on the red zone, be good on third downs, don't

have lost as plays, and athletic quarterbacks that make off schedule plays. The rest of it just falls into that. That's the analytical part. How do we get to that model, don't turn it over and how are we explosive? I don't know if we're a fullback without a fullback, four wide, three wide. My cousins at Army wanted to run a triple option that works. Okay, Now you can only run what you know. Can't just make stuff up. I mean, it's fun to do that, but usually it doesn't work.

But the reality is is that it's there's a lot of ways to skin a cat, but still the principles of how you win are the same. You know, Costa, what did they tell you concerning the long term availability? But our jackson and did any uncertainty their way in your decision? Well? Okay, first of all, I count on

Eric and John. They're best in the business. They're going to take care of anything that has to do with any player, not just mar sure, any player that's part of a roster where you're going into you have an interest of what the roster is going to look like. But ultimately I want to be someplace where structure, organization great on defense from top to bottom, and everywhere I talked to and everybody I talked to excuse me, said you want to be you want to be a Baltimore Raven,

you want to be a part of that organization moving forward. Oh, I'm sure he'll be behind. But it's still just football. I mean, I think sometimes we make this out to be way too much, you know. I mean, it's just football. It's been playing. I don't know when he started, maybe five years old with the Purple Pounders or something in Miami or something. I mean, there's a football like well cater to what he knows and play. But I mean it's like any player. You know, if any any players

like that, you know, to where they'd be. The more time you spend with them, the more comfortable they get with any system that's or relationship that's part of it. And there's a big part of that relationship from a quarterback coordinator, play caller, position coach where they're comfortable and there's a trust that is a big part of that

and that's built over time, even beyond individual plays. Is that comfort of like, hey, we're going to give you the keys of this car, let's see what you can do. That happens a lot more in the off season. I'm kind of now expanding it, Like in the off season is where you experiment. That's where you kind of you know, let the quarterback have some rings with is. You get closer to the season, that kind of goes away a little bit. You have to start game planning and really

be dialed into what you're gonna do. You've worked with a lot of different quarterbacks. How do you describe the skill set you would have to work with? Elite? You know, he's got an elite skill set. I mean it's obvious when you watch him on film. I mean the things he can do with the football and the plays that he makes. And I think he's underrated it as a passer maybe, I think so in terms of his ability to make plays and throw it down the field. Um, so you've all seen it. I mean I'm like you,

I haven't. I'm no different than you. I watch what you guys watch, you know, and it's pretty amazing. You weren't with anyone somewhere in your no. No, So what would you say some of the strifts and weaknesses of this office? I mean, I've assuming you. Yeah, you know that's hard because, um, first of all, when I first started watching film, first of all, you know there's a transition because Lamar has been here for a while. You know, and the roster changes around players and injuries add to that.

And I first started watching and I'm like, wow, they do like they do really good stuff in the run game, Like holy cow, that that's very creative. And at first I was watching, going, I have no idea of why they want me there, Like, I don't know what I'm gonna be able to be better at. Truly, you know, I was like, wow, they did some really good things. And you know, as you continue to watch, and you know, players dictate style of play. They do. Players around the

quarterback dictate a style of play. There's no way around it. When I was at Tampa, we had really good receivers. We had to Seawan, We had Mike Evans, we had Chris Godwin, we had Adam Humphreys, and we had Oj Howard and we had Cam Brake, and we had quarterbacks that love to throw it. Sometimes of the other team, but they like to throw it. But we were much better throwing it. So that's what you right, that's where you play to the strengths of who you have. Right,

we had to be good throwing it. We weren't nearly as a depth running it, and I need I needed to do a better job probably scheming it okay, So then you get in somewhere we start losing some of your perimeter players. It's still about winning, so it's hard to judge because you don't know the rosters that make sense, like why are they doing the things they're doing offensively? Because it's still about winning. You have to do the things that give you the best chance to win every week.

But I do think that being able to use I think years want to play in a game that space is the field. I think when you go into an install meeting, all of your skill players want to say, where are my opportunities coming? Where am I going to get a chance to touch the football and showcase my ability? And I think the more you're able to do that and utilize that because to me, balance isn't run past balances.

Make them cover all five year guys, make them defend the field, make them defend you know, the depth of the field. So I think it's all of those things easier said than done, sometimes based on personnel, but I think that's where players want to play. They see themselves in that the game has gone that way, That's the way the college game has gone. That's what they're used to. They're not used to anymore being under center five step drop, that doesn't exist. They're used to being a gun RPOs,

spreading the field, using space players. That's what they're used to. So I think that's the style they want to play. And so if he said, yeah, is that who we're going to be, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying I think that's got to be a part of what you do. You mentioned that the more you think is underrated as pass I think he's that way. I think it probably started off when he came out. I think

that was already a narrative. I think sometimes there's narrative that gets put out there and it just carries right. It doesn't matter what it is. It doesn't matter. There's narratives in all of our life of what some person can become, who they are, where they were born, at the city. It doesn't matter. You put a narrative as to what they can be. I think that started from the get go of what he can and can't be, and I think in a lot of ways he's proven that to be a falsehood in terms of what he's

capable of. And but again, some of those things is a little bit. I got to be careful of how far I step out there because I've never worked with him. So you're sitting there saying things that you know, what was taught, how they schemed it, all those things. But it's impressive. You're listening to Ravens Press Pass. Make sure, if you haven't done so already, to subscribe, rate and review, and while you're at it, go ahead and search the lounge and subscribe and rate and review that as well. Yeah,

on the last podcast. We've been doing it for several years now, more than several years, Yeah, going back a long ways, and our goal with it is to allow you to pull back the curtain, step inside the castle, take a seat in the lounge, and get to know people in this building in a unique way. So we're talking about all the big news happening around this team

this offseason and throughout the entire year. We have unique conversations with coaches, executives, front office, media members, players, players of course, and it's it's a fun time. Yeah. So now back to Todd Munkin's introductory press conference. Todd, you had two really good tight ends in George of this past year. You walk in down with Mark Andrews and Isaiah Liking. Specifically with Isaiah Liiking, how do you feel like you can help take his game to the next level? Oh?

I don't you know. We became that because they were two of our best players, and of course that pissed off every slot we had. So just the way this works, right, Okay, you're eleven personnel, your tight ends are mad, you're in twenty one person night. It's just the way this goes. I get it. You know everybody wants to play. I mean, I get it. Well, are two of our best players were those guys. Luckily, our slots were very team warrient it. They were great kids. They understood that some of our

best leaders. They didn't get the opportunities they wanted, but ultimately were paid to score, move the football. They were two of our best players. That always plays itself out. And so when you look at the rest of you see, Okay, Mark, who's done it for X amount of years? And Mark won't remember this. Oh you got two got to So I'm gonna tell a story just for the hell of it, or since I have the microphone. So twelve years ago,

I'm in Oklahoma State. Mark probably wasn't remember this. So I'm in Oklahoma State Casey Dunn as a wide receiver coach, I'm the coordinator. We're flying to Arizona to watch a quarterback throw and a receiver run routes. This is twenty eleven. Okay, we go there. I'm dog custom in the whole way. I can't believe we're going to see sophomores. There's the dumbest thing going. I get there, it's Kyle Allen throwing, and it's Mark Andrews catching as a sophomore, sixteen year

old playing wide receiver. And of course he goes to Oklahoma but and I'm in Oklahoma State. So but but the fact of the matter is is that he's a tremendous player, done it for a number of years. You got a young player that is learning how to play at the professional level. But they both have the ability to make place down the field, run after catch. UM. So it's a great um starting point because I think

they're tough matchup guys. I think it starts with matchups where if once you get out of the run play action world, now you're in a matchup world. Running backs that can win on linebackers, tight ends that can win and it forces them. Are they going to go big and you win matchups? Or are they going to go small and you're better off in the run game. Those guys create matchup issues for you, which is a great

starting point. Are you about Tyler humans is being keeping most of the offensive staff in place or are you still figuring that out as a possible you can bring. It's still a work in progress, you know, I just got here last Wednesday. Um, they did a tremendous job. Or you can look at film and some of the things they did an offense were tremendous. So it's still a work in progress to the institutional thing, cause you got to flow up to the NFL seat play calling.

So I'm mad less years what do you think it will be? Mad, I think it's already started. You can see it just the teams that were and they'd already started that years ago. Is Um, when I got to Jacksonville my first up fifteen years ago, two thousand and seven, and they started to do stats of like under center and gun and all it does is all it's done is continue to climb. One with spread offenses and the evolution of more athletic quarterbacks utilizing you know their legs.

Now that comes with a price because you can get beat up, right, I mean you can get hurt. I mean, do you expose yourself a little bit more. But the game has changed in terms of that, where, like I was saying, with quarterbacks, you're seeing less and less big pocket throwing quarterbacks. I'm not saying that's going away, because you still have to have an elite skill set, doesn't matter what it is, but you're seeing a lot more where it's like, okay, what are you going to sacrifice?

Would you rather have a six five statue? Okay? Um? Or would you rather have some of this maybe a little more athletic, And first of all, you love one that's a really good player, because you wouldn't turn down Tom Brady. Right. So I'm not saying that never still have to be elite. But the point is is what you're having to look at. There's more and more athletic quarterbacks. There's more spread, and the more spread you are and the more empty you are, it's more fun. If you

guys athletic. He can get you out of trouble, like he can buy yards. And the Super Bowl I think Mahomes had forty yards even with a bad ankle and the other quarterback had seventy. Well, that's hidden yardage. That's auxiliary yardage gets you out of trouble because you're rarely going to be perfect in protections right, and the more spread you get right, the more space, the more okay, wow, they start to cover down and he makes a guy miss, he can make you pay. I think the game has

changed that way. Where years ago when I was at weak, there were more fullbacks, there were more mic linebackers, there were more big tight ends, or more Mercedes Lewis hell he's been playing since I was in Jacksonville for God's Six, and we got a guy coming out, Darnell Washington. He's a throwback. Why try to find a Why try to find a blocker in college? Try to find that. It's very difficult. You're finding more air raid wide outs that were big. Kittle was two hundred five pounds out of

high school. He was playing wide out. Well, those are your matchup guys because they were wide outs. They got raised in a wide out offense and they got bigger, so that they're even more of a matchup because they can route, run, they can separate. So I think that's where the game has changed for matchup players and teams are more willing to do that. When you take Wes Welker playing an ex receiver for the Dolphins, and they

were ahead of their time. They put him in the slot and he's a Hall of famer, you leave at x or Z. He's not a hall of famer. He's a good player, not a hall of famer. So what is it that you do with a certain player that creates that advantage? Same with tight ends years ago? You know, at one time Kellen Winslow was like that was a novelty. That was like, boy, that's a holy cow. He's not the novelty. That is what it is. Now that's the game today. I don't even know the rules. Can I

speak on it? Oh? So that I can speak, You can't speak on a guy that's under conright, Okay. I really like Odell Odell super athletic twitch, he really likes football. I mean I really did you know? It didn't work out the year I was there. But ultimately he's like every skill player. He's no different. I don't know, everybody gets piste off like he wants the ball well really, like I don't know where I've been where a great

player didn't want the ball. I didn't know where a basketball player didn't want shots or a baseball player didn't want to get bat bats. That's what they want. They want opportunities to showcase their ability. I think it's awesome. I think he's tremendously skilled and and I like his personality. Likes to compete. He has a tough deal though, because he's a he in my opinion, and he may think differently, and it's like it's tough being a a face. Does

that make sense? Like NBA deals with all the time, But there's very few NFL players outside of quarterbacks that they really know their face that they're they're a market there. And he's that way, and I think that makes it hard. You know, at times when you're under the microscope like he is, it really is our But I liked Odell a lot, like the skill set, like his work ethic,

He fought through an injury tremendous. I think, you know, he didn't really understand football until he got to the port with you and he said, well that's that's way too much. I mean obviously then you know he was under he was at a camera and he had to say that, you know what I'm saying to say that, So, I mean, let's let's get let's get real, like, um, you know, the reality is he was a really good

player of him. I was already thinking about my answer before I actually heard the second part of the question. What was the second part of the question. Sorry, see, Um, I think it's the reverse of that. I think it's how they see the game, I think, and then figuring out what they already know, like how they see it. Are they capable of certain things? Some players are more capable than others, right, Like anything any job that you have,

some people are more capable than others of certain tests. Right. So some quarterbacks want control. Some quarterbacks want to be in charge of changing routes and protections, and some don't. Some don't want that. Some players, there's a lot that goes with that. He wanted that. He's very smart, he was older, He understood football. He just didn't understand certain things that if you want to play in the NFL

you're gonna have to know. So, you know, for him to say that, um, you know, I mean, I don't know, you know, But the reality is is I think you see it through the player's eyes first, and then you go from there because you can't you can't force someone to do something they're not capable of. You can't take up, you know, fullback and say hey, we want you to be a matchup guy in a linebacker. You know, things

like that that you just have to work through. In the past five years, are consistently throwing football and watching some of the film that you have with this team. How much can his team proof, especially in the past game, Well, it starts with um working together an elite passing game as timing, it's working together. And I think the less you have of that based on off season or rotating your skill players, I think the harder that becomes, and

I think the more consistent. The other thing is we have to do a great job of building concepts that fit together so it fits in a quarterback's brain and Okay, this is X, Y Z whatever, but it's very similar the same of how we start. And I think the more you go down that road, I think the user it becomes. Obviously, the better you run the football, the better it is to throw it. So it starts with the excellent run game and then go from there. One for the fans, And that was a good one though.

I like the way that said, like, it wasn't your questions for the fans. Who's gonna let down the fans? For God's sakes? Right? You had to go with that question then, a cow. I'm probably where there is an avid fan base that hope and praise that you are the one that is going to fix this offense which has struggled. How do you is there a pressure that comes with that, and how do you personally handle a

screw even comes with it? This year? Well? I think, first off, as we all know in this profession, let's start with this. This is week to week, month to month, a year to year. Because I don't think that fan base would have said that nineteen right, I would have doubted that would have been the way that they thought of it. And things go year to year, and and then you reassess, does that make sense? Who doesn't like offense?

For God's sakes? The league revolves around fantasy football? I mean they want to see scoring, right, I mean that's it's interesting. You could win forty one forty or you can win seven six, and you think the forty one forty teams just killing it it's the way it is. It's what we're built around. Right, Um, I only control what I can control. You say, is there a pressure? Run it? There's pressure everywhere. There was pressure Georgie. You

can say, well you had the best players. Yeah, but they expect us to go ten and two at a minimum. That's pressure. You know, you can't lose many games, you know, so's there's pressure. If it's what we do, that's what we sign up for. That that's our job like that. Anybody says that doesn't come with the territory, they're lying. That's a big part of what we do. And yet that's some of what drives us, you know, that challenge of doing it better than they do it, because that's

what it comes down to in the NFL. You got good players, got good coaches, got good scheme. How do we do it better than they do it? How do we gain percentages? Whatever? There's a one percent here. Whether it's analytics, whether it's special teams, whether it's protection, whether it's a player, you're just trying to gain percentages to give you the best chance to move the football. So I'm excited. I'm excited to get started. But again again, like I always say we're paid to score, you know,

and if you don't score, that's no fun. Man. I don't know what else to say. And it's fun obviously I get it, you know. So thanks for listening to Ravens Press Fast with Todd Munkin introduced as the new

offensive coordinator. I thought he came off really well, very likable guy, and gave a few clues to what his offense might look like and his excitement level working with Lamar Jackson, joining a franchise with such a great defense and great culture, and you could definitely tell how excited he is to be to be with the Ravens now.

So thank you for listening. If you haven't done so already, make sure you subscribe, rate, and review, and we'll be back with you next week at the NFL Scouting Combine with press conferences with general manager Eric Decasa and head coach John Harball. Thanks for tuning in.