Baltimore Ravens assistant rejects offensive line coach position with USC Trojans
The Baltimore Ravens offensive line has been a tremendous disappointment this season, and even the solid mid-season acquisition of Jacksonville Jaguars steady left tackle Eugene Monroe didn’t save them. While Monroe and Marshal Yanda have been solid this season, pretty much everyone else struggled mightily (Yanda wasn’t even as good as usual), and the Ravens will have to figure things out on the line if they want to make the playoffs in 2014. Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce form a talented running back duo, but neither could get anything going behind abysmal blocking. Joe Flacco was sacked more than any other Ravens quarterback in franchise history, and the consistent pressure really disrupted the rhythm of the Ravens passing attack.
But despite the Ravens struggles with blocking, assistant offensive line coach Todd Washington reportedly received an offer to join new USC head coach Steve Sarkisian’s staff in Los Angeles. According to sources close to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun, Washington declined a “lucrative offer” from Sark and the Trojans, and the 37-year-old will instead remain with the Ravens organization.
It’s interesting to see that Sarkisian, who initially targeted Oregon’s offensive line coach, gave a significant offer to Washington to join his staff at USC, but it’s not much of a surprise to hear that Washington is staying put with the team that won the Super Bowl last season. Hopefully the Ravens offensive line can improve next year, and I doubt this is the last time that we’ll hear about other teams looking to poach him away.