Harbaugh: Not talking staff changes amid outcry
John Harbaugh dismissed any talk of coaching changes Monday despite notable fan outrage over the offense — including several “Fire Greg…
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — If the Baltimore Ravens didn’t realize the level of outrage toward their struggling offense, they got a sample of it when they walked up to the team facility Sunday morning.
Someone left several makeshift, handwritten flyers that read “Fire Greg Roman” scattered just outside the entrance, calling for the ousting of the Ravens’ offensive coordinator. Baltimore outside linebacker Tyus Bowser posted a video of the pieces of notebook paper on Instagram with the caption “Well alright then” before deleting it.
In the 13-3 loss in Cleveland on Saturday, the Ravens scored their fewest points in a regular-season game in 14 years. Baltimore’s offense has been sputtering since the bye week, scoring a league-low 13.8 points over the past five games.
On Monday, Ravens coach John Harbaugh was asked if he was going to make any changes on his coaching staff.
“We’re not getting into all that,” Harbaugh said. “I mean, you guys can talk about all that and I respect that. I love the fans talking about everything they can talk about. We’re together man. We’re a team. We’re spending all of our time getting ready for the Atlanta Falcons with every ounce of energy and fiber we got with a bunch of very, very good people at what they do, who understand everything about our team better than anybody else possibly could. You know the end of the bar talk conversation is for the people sitting at the end of the bar.”
Harbaugh said he has spoken to Bowser about what he posted on social media and believes Bowser has talked with Roman about it.
“When stuff like that happens, you communicate with one another, and you find out there’s really not much there, in terms of what people are thinking and all that,” Harbaugh said. “I could go on a social media rant, but I don’t know why anybody lives there.”
Asked if he was interested in how the flyers got to the entrance of the facility, Harbaugh said, “I don’t care how they got there. I don’t care. I’m not security. Security has got to worry about that. It’s paper — paper.”
Earlier this month, someone posted a video on Twitter in which fans were shouting obscenities at Roman while he walked from the stadium to his car after the game. “Get the f— out of here, Greg,” one fan shouted.
In Roman’s first season as Baltimore’s offensive coordinator, the Ravens were nearly unstoppable. Baltimore averaged an NFL-best 33.2 points per game, as quarterback Lamar Jackson led the league with 36 touchdown passes and set a single-season rushing record for quarterbacks with 1,206 yards.
Now, in Roman’s fourth season as playcaller, Baltimore has had increasing difficulties getting into the end zone. The Ravens are 16th in scoring (21.7 points) and 17th with 30 touchdowns.
“There are going to be times, and you’re going to go out there and you’re going to have a bad day,” Harbaugh said. “We don’t want them. … Nobody’s more ticked off about it or can’t sleep about it more than the coaches and the players, but the thing is you have to pull yourself off the mat and go win the next game.”
It’s unknown whether Jackson will come back for Baltimore’s next game. Harbaugh declined to say whether Jackson would return for Saturday against the Falcons after missing the past two games with a sprained knee.
“I think I’m going to climb behind the barricade of it’s probably not the time to put a lot of information out there on our injuries, just for competitive purposes,” Harbaugh said.
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