Ravens Coaching Candidates - Part I

I apologize for the long layoff. Fall is peak recruiting season at work and then the holidays hit.

Since I've been away the Ravens, not surprisingly, collapsed down the stretch. Owner Steve Bisciotti made the difficult, but correct, decision to fire Brian Billick. Billick's first 5 years were fantastic - 47-33 with a Super Bowl Championship, an AFC North division title, one other playoff appearance, 5 playoff wins, and only 1 losing season. (Ironically that year may have been his best coaching job as the Ravens were the youngest team in NFL history after their salary cap purge of 2002.)

The last 4 years have been very disappointing with a 33-31 record, 1 playoff appearance, 0 playoff wins, and 2 losing seasons. The offense, supposedly Billick's strength, never developed, finishing in the top half of the league once in 9 years.

So now let's look at the names of candidates being mentioned in the media. Two names that I'm not going to discuss are Bill Cowher and Marty Schottenheimer since they are so well-known. I've done some homework on the lesser-known candidates and below are my thoughts:

Tony Sparano - Assistant Head Coach & Offensive Line Coach, Dallas Cowboys
Background
Sparano joined the Cowboys in 2003 & spent 2 years as Tight Ends coach. The Cowboys drafted Jason Whitten in 03 and by his second year with Sparano he was a Pro Bowl player. In '05 he became Offensive Line Coach and running game coordinator. In the past 3 years under his coaching 3 Cowboy linemen have been named to the Pro Bowl - Larry Allen, Flozell Adams, and Andre Gurode. In 2006 Sporano called plays under Bill Parcells. The Cowboys were 4th in the league in points scored and also scored the 4th-most points in Cowboys history.

Prior to joining the Cowboys Sporano spent 1 season as the Jaguars Tight Ends coach. Under his guidance Kyle Brady had his 2nd best season as a pro. He spent the '01 season as the TE coach with the Redskins and broke into the NFL in '99 with the Browns, spending 1 year as the quality control coach and one year as the OL coach.

From 1984-1998 Sporano coached at Division II University of New Haven. From '89-93 he was the offensive coordinator. From '94-'98 he was the head coach, earning 2 trips to the Division II playoffs, including a runner-up finish in '97. For his efforts he earned 2 Coach of the Year awards.

DK's Thoughts
Based on what I know, I think this would be a very good selection. He has had success at every level and in every type of position. I like the fact that he has head coaching experience but also has significant NFL experience under a couple of really good coaches - Bill Parcells and Marty Schottenheimer. The challenge may be keeping him away from Parcells and Miami. The one fear I have is that he has connections to Maurice Carthon and may hire him as Offensive Coordinator. That would be a disaster.

Rob Chudzinski - Offensive Coordinator, Cleveland Browns
Background
Chudzinski became the Browns Offensive Coordinator in 2007 and oversaw a dramatic turnaround. The Browns went from 31st in the league in offense (under Carthon) to 8th. They went from 265 yards and 15 points a game to 351 yards and 25 points a game. He finally got Braylon Edwards, Kellen Winslow, and Jamal Lewis to play up to their capabilities and helped make Ravens' castoff Derek Anderson a Pro Bowler.

In 2005 and 06 Chud was the TE coach for the Chargers, working with Pro Bowler Antonio Gates. Chud broke into the NFL as the TE coach with the Browns in 2004.

Chudzinski grew up in Ohio as a die-hard Browns fan (he would actually go outside and watch the game on the TV inside through a window to simulate the cold at Cleveland Stadium). He played TE at Miami from 86-90, winning 2 national championships and graduating with a degree in business (he earned an MBA in '96). He was TE coach through 2003, mentoring Bubba Franks, Jeremy Shockey, and Kellen Winslow. In 2001 he added offensive coordinator to his job. In '01 the 'Canes set a school record with 475 points. They topped that the next year with over 500 points and broke the school records for total yards and rushing TD's. In addition to the TE's mentioned, he also coached Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee and Andre Johnson.

DK's Thoughts
I really like this guy. He's young (39) but he's very smart and has been successful EVERYWHERE he's been. There may be some concern with his ability to earn the respect of the veteran Ravens with very strong personalities (JO, Ed Reed, Ray Lewis, Bart Scott, Willis McGahee). He dealt with some very strong personalities in Cleveland and got them to have outstanding seasons. Secondly, he knows Lewis, Reed, and McGahee, 3 of the strongest personalities, from his days at the U.

Another concern could be his strong ties to Cleveland. Given the fact that he grew up idolizing the Browns and was a tight end, I couldn't see him not wanting to work with Ozzie Newsome.

Here's a news story about his hiring. I watched the video of his introductory news conference. After watching it I couldn't help but to be motivated.
Chud