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Sources: Ravens, OC Monken finalizing extension

  • Jamison HensleyJan 27, 2025, 11:57 AM ET

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      Jamison Hensley is a reporter covering the Baltimore Ravens for ESPN. Jamison joined ESPN in 2011, covering the AFC North before focusing exclusively on the Ravens beginning in 2013. Jamison won the National Sports Media Association Maryland Sportswriter of the Year award in 2018, and he authored a book titled: Flying High: Stories of the Baltimore Ravens. He was the Ravens beat writer for the Baltimore Sun from 2000-2011.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Offensive coordinator Todd Monken is finalizing a contract extension to remain with the Baltimore Ravens, sources told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Monday.

The new deal comes after Monken led the Ravens to their first ever No. 1 ranking in offense and helped quarterback Lamar Jackson to his best statistical season.

At the Ravens’ end-of-season news conference last week, coach John Harbaugh praised Monken for his work in his first two seasons in Baltimore.

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“He’s an old-school football coach with kind of a new-school and creative mind,” Harbaugh said. “I really am excited about 3.0, that iteration of this offense going forward, because we found ourselves through the last offseason and into this season, in terms of how we want to organize the offense and tie it all together and use the different platforms that you can use.”

Monken, 58, has drawn NFL head coaching interest the last two years. In 2023, he spoke with the Los Angeles Chargers and Carolina Panthers about their openings. This year, he interviewed with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Chicago Bears before Baltimore’s AFC divisional round loss to the Buffalo Bills.

Even though Monken has yet to land an NFL head coaching job, Harbaugh said he believes Monken would be a great one.

“Todd is one of those guys that can apply his experience, along with the fact that he’s always thinking ahead,” Harbaugh said. “He’s always trying to come up with the next idea, and then he’s also very much [a] collaborator. To me, sometimes a young coach does a good job of that, sometimes an experienced guy understands the value of that and is able to utilize those people really well around him. It’s the guys that last. Those are the guys that kind of prove themselves over time I think, and Todd is one those guys.”

In Monken’s two seasons, Baltimore has averaged the second-most yards (397.6) and the second-most points (29.4). Last season, the Ravens led the NFL with 424.9 yards per game, finishing No. 1 in total yards for the first time in the franchise’s 29-year existence.

Monken was hired to upgrade Baltimore’s passing attack. This season, Jackson recorded career highs in passing yards (4,172) and touchdown passes (41).

Before joining the Ravens in 2023, Monken was the playcaller for Georgia in its back-to-back national championship seasons.

NFL

Follow live: Saquon, Eagles running past the Commanders early in Philly

  • Lindsey ThiryJan 26, 2025, 03:23 PM ET

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      Lindsey Thiry is a national NFL reporter for ESPN. She joined ESPN in 2018 to cover the Los Angeles Rams after two years of covering them for the Los Angeles Times, and has also covered the Chargers for ESPN. She previously covered the Atlanta Falcons. You can follow her on Twitter/X @LindseyThiry.

The Washington Commanders versus the Philadelphia Eagles: Two NFC East teams battling to go to the Super Bowl. It’s an outcome few could have predicted just a few months ago.

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After all, weren’t there rumblings about the job security of Eagles coach Nick Sirianni after a 2-2 start? That’s before quarterback

NFL

'Locked in' Daniels eyes historic road playoff win

  • John KeimJan 24, 2025, 03:32 PM ET

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      John Keim covers the Washington Commanders for ESPN. He joined ESPN in 2013 after a stint with the Washington Post. He started covering the team in 1994 for the Journal Newspapers and later for the Washington Examiner. He has authored/co-authored four books. You can also listen to him on ‘The John Keim Report’, which airs on ESPN Richmond radio, and follow him on Twitter @john_keim

ASHBURN, Va. — Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, sitting on the bench, turned to a group of Detroit Lions fans heckling him Saturday, smiled and formed a heart with his hands. Washington had just been stopped on a fourth-and-1, and the Ford Field crowd was loud.

But all Daniels did, captured by WUSA-TV in Washington, was smile at them and form a heart with his hands and then deliver a 45-31 victory.

“I didn’t really say anything,” Daniels said. “I kind of let my play do the talking.”

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It’s that mindset Washington hopes results in a trip to the Super Bowl as Daniels will be playing in front of a Philadelphia fan base considered one of the most hostile in the NFL. The Commanders and Eagles play at 3 p.m. Sunday.

Daniels also is trying to become the first rookie quarterback to lead a team to the Super Bowl; five others have reached the championship game and lost. Daniels said earlier this week he wasn’t thinking about that, rather focusing on that day’s practice.

Nor is he worried about playing in another intense environment. After all, Washington has won its first two playoff games on the road. In those games, Daniels has thrown four touchdowns and no interceptions. He has an NFL-best 86.9 quarterback rating for the postseason.

“He’s locked in from the start of Quarter 1 to the end of Quarter 4,” Washington receiver

“We’ve played in some of the most hostile environments, playing in some of the biggest stages, and he’s treating it the same every week. I love that about him. That permeates throughout our team. … There’s a reason I feel he has a chance to be a really great player in the league.”

And, in the regular season, Washington was 5-3 on the road with Daniels owning the fourth-best QBR at 70.6 with 10 touchdowns and only two interceptions.

In other words: playing on the road hasn’t bothered him.

“I don’t really try to pay attention to the unnecessary things as far as the crowd and stuff like that,” Daniels said. “They’re there obviously to pump up their team, cheer for their team, talk trash. If you get caught up in that, at that point they got what they want.”

Some of Daniels’ biggest moments have occurred on the road this season, starting in a Week 3 “Monday Night Football” win at Cincinnati. On a third-and-7 with 2 minutes 15 seconds left, he connected with receiver Terry McLaurin for a 27-yard game-clinching touchdown pass — while being drilled by a blitzing defender.

He led a game-winning drive to beat Tampa Bay 23-20 on a last-second field goal in the wild-card round. He threw for 299 yards, his second-highest total of the season and most on the road, in the win over Detroit — going 11-for-15 for 201 yards vs. the blitz.

Washington coach Dan Quinn said more than playing on the road, it’s the Eagles’ defense that will be difficult to navigate. The Commanders were held to 264 total yards, their second lowest of the season, in a 26-18 loss at Philadelphia in Week 11. They won the rematch 36-33 in December despite five turnovers.

Quinn said Daniels’ work throughout the week enables him to not be intimidated on the road.

“You have confidence when you put the work in,” Quinn said. “That carries a lot whether you’re at home or on the road. Having that background of work, man that gives you a lot of confidence.”

NFL

Jaguars hire Buccaneers OC Coen as head coach

  • Michael DiRoccoJan 23, 2025, 11:44 PM ET

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      Michael DiRocco is an NFL reporter at ESPN. DiRocco covers the Jacksonville Jaguars. He previously covered the University of Florida for over a decade for ESPN.com and Florida Times-Union. DiRocco graduated from Jacksonville University and is a multiple APSE award winner. You can follow DiRocco on Twitter at @ESPNdirocco.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars announced Friday that they have agreed to terms with Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen to be the team’s head coach. A source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that the deal is for five years.

The decision capped a two-day saga in which Coen pulled himself from consideration for the Jaguars job, then agreed to a contract extension with the Buccaneers that would have made him the NFL’s highest-paid coordinator, and then changed his mind after Jacksonville reached out to ask him to reconsider after it parted ways with general manager Trent Baalke on Wednesday afternoon.

“To repeat my message earlier this week, I am deeply committed to building a winner here in Jacksonville,” Jaguars owner Shad Khan said in a statement. “I also believe in being judged by actions, not words. That’s why I took swift and decisive action this week to hire Liam Coen as the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. I am pumped that Liam is accepting the challenge and opportunity to build the winner that Jaguars fans and partners fully deserve. I know our players feel the same.”

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Coen traveled to Jacksonville on Thursday afternoon and met with Khan and interim general manager Ethan Waugh. A source told ESPN’s Jenna Laine that Coen reached out to Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles earlier Thursday night to tell him about his renewed interest in the Jaguars’ job, but Coen did not speak with anyone else in the Bucs’ front office.

The Jaguars had interviewed 2023 2024 PPG 20.5 29.5 YPG 313 400 Rush Yds PG 89 149 QBR 56 65 — ESPN Research

In addition, Mayfield set career highs in passing yards (4,500), passing touchdowns (41) and completion percentage (71.4%) — ranking in the top three in the NFL in each of those categories.

The Rams’ offense struggled in 2022 because quarterback

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