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To the surprise of very few, Kirby Smart now finds himself in the market for a new offensive coordinator.
We have hired Todd Monken to be our Offensive Coordinator. pic.twitter.com/tTtMNMRCMd
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) February 14, 2023
After leading the Georgia Bulldog offense through a renaissance that spurred two consecutive national titles, Todd Monken will take over as the offensive coordinator for John Harbaugh‘s Baltimore Ravens. You may recall that Monken came to Athens after an unhappy stint as the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns, where he did not have the autonomy he wanted in playcalling.
Kirby Smart promised he could call the plays in Athens, and call them he did. Monken’s offense struggled to find its footing in 2020 before catching fire with JT Daniels under center late in the year. In 2021 and 2022 with Stetson Bennett at the controls the Bulldogs finished 9th and 4th in scoring offense and second two years running in offensive efficiency. The difference from prior iterations of the UGA offense is simple, and summed up in this somewhat NSFW tweet.
Other quarterback coaches to 5 star recruits: “I’ve put guys in the NFL.”
— National Football Parody Account Champs (@dawgsports) January 11, 2022
Todd Monken: “I turned Stetson Bennett, IV into Tom Brady Lite, I could mold you into fucking Batman.”
It remains to be seen where Coach Smart will turn for a replacement, though given that the interest from NFL teams has been ongoing since before the professional regular season ended I expect things are already in the works. There are excellent options on staff in the form of former college coordinators Mike Bobo and Bryan McClendon, and tight ends coach Todd Hartley, who worked the booth with Monken. But he’ll also have a ton of interest from current coordinators and coaches looking to move into that role. We’ll have some more thoughts on that shortly. Until then…
Go ‘Dawgs!!!
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