Billick hires an old friend as O.C.—himself

By Darrell Laurant  |   Tuesday, October 17, 2006  |  Comments( 1 )

Baltimore Ravens
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Brian Billick couldn't fire Steve McNair -- he makes too much money. So on Tuesday, the Baltimore Ravens' coach fired his offensive coordinator, Jim Fassel, instead.

"Clearly, in order for us to expand on our 4-2 start, we have to have more offensive productivity," Billick said at a news conference at the team's Owings Mills, Md., headquarters. "It was my opinion going forward, in order to bring about the level of production that we need offensively, to get where we wanted to go, that I needed to step back in on a day-to-day basis."

On the surface, that sounds a little like George W. Bush getting rid of Donald Rumsfeld and offering to run the war in Iraq himself. But Billick does have some offensive credentials, having served as the O.C. with Minnesota (presiding over an NFL record 556 points in 1998), and bringing with him to Baltimore the reputation as an offensive genius.

Now, of course, Billick will have no one to blame but himself if the attack, currently ranked 28th in the league, continues to sputter. And the decision to can Fassel was made even more difficult by the fact that the two are -- or, maybe, were -- longtime friends.

Fassel and Billick had even matched wits in the 2001 Super Bowl, when Fassel coached the New York Giants. In 1997, he was named NFL Coach of the Year.

Nevertheless, the Ravens' offense is pretty much a mess. McNair, who came over from Tennessee with great fanfare despite the fact that he's suffered more dings than a dirt-track race car, has produced just 915 passing yards, five touchdown passes against seven interceptions and a 64 quarterback rating.

When McNair was knocked out of Sunday's game against Carolina with a concussion, Kyle Boller -- the guy who was summarily benched to make way for the new guy -- stepped in to throw three touchdown passes in the 23-21 loss. So, uh, why did Baltimore pay all that money for McNair, again?

Meanwhile, Jamal Lewis -- who once ran for 295 yards in one game -- has only 352 all season. And he's not happy about it, just as WR Derrick Mason (McNair's former teammate) is complaining about his lack of touches. The locker room, apparently, is a sea of bubbling discontent.

Imagine what it would be like if the Ravens had a losing record.

"There was no single incident, no episode, nothing specific that brought about this change," Billick said. "It was a collective evaluation on my part that something dramatic had to be done?"

Can he play quarterback? No, Billick was a tight end at Brigham Young. And it could be that McNair will pull himself together and play the way he's capable of playing.

But the offensive line has been plagued with injuries, Mason and Mark Clayton are the only receivers capable of scaring anyone (the entire wideout corps has scored just two touchdowns), and McNair's best option has been tight end Todd Heap. Offensive genius or not, Billick must get down on his knees every night and thank God for the Baltimore Ravens' defense, which is largely responsible for the strong start.

At least now, he can have a meeting with his offensive coordinator any time he wants -- even in the shower.

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