Officially, Greg Roman is returning to the AFC. Following a year off, he returned to the NFL as the offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens in 2022 after serving as the team’s coordinator from 2019 to 2022. Todd Monken took his position this season. Jim Harbaugh, in his first season as head coach, hopes to return to a muscular offensive approach with the appointment of Roman as offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Ravens had a vicious, hard-to-stop run-heavy attack under Roman that was difficult to halt once the run game got going. Looking at the stats, Baltimore was a running force to be reckoned with throughout his four seasons as offensive coordinator. Roman’s first two seasons as coordinator saw the Ravens lead the NFL in rushing yards in 2019 and 2020 (206/g in 2019 and 191.9 in 2020). The Ravens were third (145.8/g) the next season, and in 2022, his last season, Baltimore had the second-best rushing attack in the league (160/g).
It is now hoped that he can provide the Chargers, whose offense was ranked 21st this season, with that kind of output. Could the Chargers now try harder to close a deal and match running back Austin Ekeler—whose market value is $7.4 million APY—with Roman, who enjoys rushing the football?
Although Joshua Kelley is a free agent and would be far less expensive than Ekeler, both players might see an increase in carries and production in Roman’s plan.
With ten years of experience as an offensive coordinator—not to mention that in his rookie season, he turned Lamar Jackson into an MVP—Roman is as seasoned as they come. It is believed that he may now achieve that in Los Angeles with Justin Herbert. The Ravens and Chargers will square off at SoFi Stadium in a delightful little twist that will take place during the upcoming season.
