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Ravens fire Billick (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter TD32
- Start date
jeter23
Footballguy
Jay Glazer of FOXSports.com reports that the Baltimore Ravens have fired coach Brian Billick.
The move comes despite insistence from Billick that he'd return for a tenth season, and despite a report in the Baltimore Sun citing an unnamed source close to owner Steve Bisciotti that Billick would be back.
We never believed any of it. It was obvious that it was time for a change in Baltimore, and a change has indeed been made.
As the rumor goes, Bisciotti considered firing Billick after the 2005 season, but the owner decided that he couldn't do better with a devil he didn't know. Based on 2007, Bisciotti might have concluded that he can't do much worse.
The move comes despite insistence from Billick that he'd return for a tenth season, and despite a report in the Baltimore Sun citing an unnamed source close to owner Steve Bisciotti that Billick would be back.
We never believed any of it. It was obvious that it was time for a change in Baltimore, and a change has indeed been made.
As the rumor goes, Bisciotti considered firing Billick after the 2005 season, but the owner decided that he couldn't do better with a devil he didn't know. Based on 2007, Bisciotti might have concluded that he can't do much worse.
Sabertooth
Footballguy
Careful what you wish for Ravenites.
The Pitbull
Footballguy
It's about time. Five years too late (IMO). The Ravens should have been serious contenders just about every year this decade. Maybe the biggest waste of a championship caliber defense I have ever seen.
trader jake
Footballguy
An offense?Billick deserved to be fired and should have been a few seasons ago. "Offensive genius"
zamboni
Footballguy
Arthur Blank's secretary may be dialing Billick's agent as we speak.
Spike
Footballguy
Here's the article, for those who cannot get to it:
Despite his insistence that his job was safe, the Brian Billick era in Baltimore is over.
The team fired their head coach Monday, FOXSports.com has learned, capping an extremely disappointing season.
This comes one day after FOX Sports reported that the players and other employees informed team owner Steve Biscotti that Billick had completely lost the locker room and could not win them back.
Billick was hired as an offensive guru but during his tenure it was his defenses that won for the Ravens, especially their Super Bowl title. Over time Billick was unable to get his QBs to star and his offenses stalled year in and year out.
Earlier this year he proclaimed that he had been given the vote of confidence from Biscottit but that was never confirmed and was obviously not true.
Despite his insistence that his job was safe, the Brian Billick era in Baltimore is over.
The team fired their head coach Monday, FOXSports.com has learned, capping an extremely disappointing season.
This comes one day after FOX Sports reported that the players and other employees informed team owner Steve Biscotti that Billick had completely lost the locker room and could not win them back.
Billick was hired as an offensive guru but during his tenure it was his defenses that won for the Ravens, especially their Super Bowl title. Over time Billick was unable to get his QBs to star and his offenses stalled year in and year out.
Earlier this year he proclaimed that he had been given the vote of confidence from Biscottit but that was never confirmed and was obviously not true.
Jiggyonthehut
Footballguy
Color me surprised.
I think he lands somewhere soon. Somewhere not too far.
I think he lands somewhere soon. Somewhere not too far.
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Sabertooth
Footballguy
He won them a Super Bowl. With Trent Dilfer.An offense?Billick deserved to be fired and should have been a few seasons ago. "Offensive genius"
Franknbeans
Footballguy
that poor yet-to-be-named teamSpike said:
Craig_MiamiFL
Footballguy
Billick walks and talks like a head coach, but the credentials of any 'offensive genius' that can stick with Steve McNair for as long as he did (and I believe McNair would STILL be starting if healthy) have to be questioned. I felt bad for the sake of the league MVP award itself (given he won it only a few years ago) at times when I saw him perform over the past 2 years.
And that's not even getting into the fact the offense has been below league average for the past several years (which everyone has every right to distinctly point out).
And that's not even getting into the fact the offense has been below league average for the past several years (which everyone has every right to distinctly point out).
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King of the Wolfies
Footballguy
please not the fins.
Tanner9919
Footballguy
good riddance!he sucks..TD32 said:
Godsbrother
Footballguy
I never cared much for the guy but I think he is a good coach. You could do a lot worse than Billick as your head coach.
Spike
Footballguy
With the egos of Billick and Parcells, does anyone think this could happen? :(
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
People have been saying that for almost a decade, but where is the proof? His offenses have always been pretty mediocre in Baltimore. Sure, he had success in Minnesota as their OC, but with the talent they had, you would have to have been an idiot not to have had some success. His departure from Baltimore is long overdue.
redman
Footballguy
Do you really think Parcells would hire him? I sure don't.I think if he's going to be hired this week, it's with the Falcons.
Tanner9919
Footballguy
when you pass very little and still win, it says a lot about your DEFENSE.they won that SB strictly on the merits of that defense...Yes Jamal was decent and the O-line was superb, but who are we kidding, Mary Poppins could have won that SB as QB of the Ravens , that defense scared the daylights out of everyone..Sabertooth said:
Brutis
Footballguy
Everyone is terrified Billick will go to their team.
Da Guru
Fair & Balanced
Billick deserved to be canned, but lets face it..he has never had a decent QB in his whole tenure. Maybe Derek Anderson.
Cannon Fodder
Footballguy
I think he would still make a great OC. I would love to see him become the new OC for the Buffalo Bills. We are losing Fairchild and Billick would do alright replacing him.The Bills young offense has potential.Everyone is terrified Billick will go to their team.
Whiplash Inc.
Footballguy
I think Rex Ryan should be a serious candidate to inherit the HC job.
redman
Footballguy
Billick as I understand it was hired to turn around that offense and was most responsible for luring Grbac and McNair there, and for drafting Redman and Boller. He went 0-for-4 on QB's. That's on him. The fact that, as you said, he let Anderson get away - and to a division rival no less! - is simply icing on the cake.
roadkill1292
Footballguy
This is a scary moment in a couple of ways. There's a lot to be said for continuity at the position and I can think of a whole bunch of worse coaches who have come and gone in this league during Billick's tenure.I've long been a Billick backer because I thought he was a guy who took responsibility for the team's shortcomings. He doesn't duck the local media (though my friends in it say he's a bit snarky; I always attributed this to him being smarter than them and them resenting it). But I finally had to give in this year when once again I saw no evidence of the offense improving as the season went on, nor was there improvement from year to year, at least not to the level of competency required to be a consistent winner in the AFC. It's ok to be bad but it's criminal to never get any better as time goes on.Sabertooth said:
Losing the team's confidence is the final straw. Yet I think it can also be said without much fear of contradiction that the current Ravens roster is full of big egos and "in it for themselves" kinds of guys, rather than team guys like those that populate the rosters in Indianapolis and New England. Adalius Thomas said as much when he landed in Foxboro and I think there's something to be said for it. Perhaps a general housecleaning is in order as much as finding a new captain of the ship.
enfuego
Footballguy
I am no fan of Billick...Point is: He is a better OC than HCAfter being named the offensive coordinator of Utah State University, Billick improved the second-worst offense in Division I-A into a top-ten offense in only three seasons (1986-1988).
Billick was then hired as the assistant head coach and tight ends coach at Stanford by Dennis Green, serving both roles for three seasons (1989-91).
When Green became the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings in 1991, he hired Billick as his tight ends coach. Three games into their second season, Billick was promoted to offensive coordinator and quickly began developing one of the most explosive offenses in the league.
The Vikings made the playoffs during six of the seven seasons (1992-1998) that Billick spent with the team, and set several offensive records in the process. In 1998, Minnesota set an NFL record for most points scored in a season (556) and set a team record with 41 touchdown passes.
The guy can clearly teach/coach offense, but loses an entire team...
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BoltBacker
Footballguy
That was my first thought as well. ATL was recently burned by Parcells. Billick has been telling everyone he'd be back so he must feel burned by BAL. Good chance for both of them to save face. Everyone is saying ATL won't go with another college guy.It's not a bad fit from a football standpoint either. Billick has the resume. An awful lot of hate on this board for a guy with Billick's career winning %. Has a SB. One year removed from a 13-3 finish(funny how all his detractors bring up '05 and '07 as if '06 never happened).ATL deserves to stay in the cellar if they don't have Billick or Schottenheimer signed by the end of the week. Seems like a no brainer to get that franchise back above .500 again.
BoltBacker
Footballguy
Maybe this move is an indicator some of those big egos(high priced big egos) won't be on the Ravens next season. In '06 they had a team built for a one year run and gave INDY all they could handle in the playoffs before INDY went on to win the SB. This season was obvious the N+1 year and it's pretty obvious a McNair/Lewis led team will not win another SB. If you were planning on rebuilding it was a good move to start from scratch.
Stillers Jr.
Footballguy
As a steeler fan, I am sad to see him go...Hopefully they'll still trot out Boller for at least part of the year next year..
Craig_MiamiFL
Footballguy
Do you think they'll bring in a real offensive genius this time?
Singletary is a good candidate, but this is also a declining defense as well. Part of the issue there also is that the players really seemed to be running everything there.
Singletary is a good candidate, but this is also a declining defense as well. Part of the issue there also is that the players really seemed to be running everything there.
fatness
Footballguy
I just listened to an interview with Jay Glazer (who broke the story) on 1300, a Baltimore sports station. Glazer said the front office had been sounding out team members, trainers, etc. for the last 2 weeks, asking them the same 2 questions:"Has Billick lost the locker room?" --- they got a unanimous "yes" to that."Can he regain it?" --- they got a unanimous "no" to that.That being said, Billick's not the only problem there. Now there's a group of underachieving players who are likely to feel satisfied that they got their coach fired. They're still underachieving players. I can see Baltimore hiring another coach, going through another bad season of 2 and "losing "the same locker room. before the front office realizes they need significant player replacements as well. This post by roadkill is on the money.
Also, Glazer was openly campaigning for Rex Ryan to get the job in the interview.
The Duff Man
Footballguy
Hopefully the Bills are on the phone offering him the vacant OC position.
Couch Potato
Footballguy
That's way too simplistic. The defense got to and won the Super Bowl, and Billick had little to do with building or running the defense. Let's not give credit where it's not deserved. He has ridden the coattails of his defense far too long. Billick's firing was overdue. Long overdue.Sabertooth said:He won them a Super Bowl. With Trent Dilfer.trader jake said:An offense?Billick deserved to be fired and should have been a few seasons ago. "Offensive genius"Sabertooth said:
tombonneau
Footballguy
In all seriousness, how many Super Bowl winning head coaches have gone back to being coordinators? I can't imagine any have, and doubt Billick's ego would allow him the ignominy of being the first.
redman
Footballguy
Of course, if that happens Chris Redman will be
coolnerd
Footballguy
IMO, despite his losing the lockerroom, the number one reason that Billick did not remain a Superbowl calibur coach was the lack of even solid QB play. The defense has been outstanding more years than not. The Ravens had a pro-bowl LT and good over OL play for years. The skill positions are good, not great, but talented enough for a defensive driven team. At the end of day, the years the QB did not get them beat, the Ravens complied a good record and were legitiamte contenders for a Superbowl.That's way too simplistic. The defense got to and won the Super Bowl, and Billick had little to do with building or running the defense. Let's not give credit where it's not deserved. He has ridden the coattails of his defense far too long. Billick's firing was overdue. Long overdue.Sabertooth said:He won them a Super Bowl. With Trent Dilfer.trader jake said:An offense?Billick deserved to be fired and should have been a few seasons ago. "Offensive genius"Sabertooth said:
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Couch Potato
Footballguy
Redman is a tool and a loser. A complete zero. I'm still undecided on Chris Redman the QB however. j/k my friend.Of course, if that happens Chris Redman will be
roadkill1292
Footballguy
Is Marvin Lewis next? It's always been intriguing to me how, much like Billick struggled to develop a competent offense in Baltimore, Marvin has failed to make much progress on the defensive side in Cincinnati. I don't believe that either one of them suddenly forgot how to do things when they left the teams where they had their original successes. Some other weird dynamic that I can't figure out is at work.
If Billick was dubbed a "defensive genius" prior to his arrival in Baltimore, everyone would be singing his praises. They would give him credit fot assembling one of the greatest defenses to ever step foot on a field and not just concentrating on the offensive short comings. Maybe he learned from his days in Minny that no matter how great your offense is, it is worthless without a decent D. I certainly think they were a little too defensive-minded, but I think his label as an offensive mastermind actually hurt him in the long run.
Baltimore may have needed to inject new blood in the HC position, but to say Billick is worthless is just silly. He worked with what he had and did a very good job of it IMO.
Baltimore may have needed to inject new blood in the HC position, but to say Billick is worthless is just silly. He worked with what he had and did a very good job of it IMO.
Jason Wood
Zoo York
Regardless of what anyone thinks about Brian Billick, it stands to reason he will get another head coaching job (if he wants it). He may sit out a season or two until a job comes open that really interests him, but you can be sure he hasn't seen his last offer. Look at all the retreads that get second and third chances and then tell me a 53 year old guy with a SB ring and 2 division titles won't get another gig.
Jene Bramel
Footballguy
No. Unless he quits, which is very unlikely, Lewis isn't going anywhere.
