NFL: 2019 Football Scout 365 NFL Assistant Coach of The Year

Baltimore Ravens Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman

Greg Roman's Path

Greg Roman has spent 22 seasons in the NFL, starting with the Expansion Carolina Panthers as a Quality Control Role in 1995. The Panthers won the NFC Championship in the franchises 2nd season while Roman was on staff. He would eventually end up with the Texans expansion team before being hired as the Ravens Offensive Line Coach in 2006, a group that would win the AFC North in 2006. The Ravens would go 5-11 in 2007, leading to Brian Billick's departure and Greg Roman not being retained. Roman's next stop? Offensive Coordinator at his High School Alma Mater, Holy Spirit (N.J.), where Roman would begin to develop the current system and philosophy credited for the rise of Lamar Jackson.

Hired by Harbaugh (Not John, but Jim)

John Harbaugh's brother Jim would eventually hire Roman at Stanford, wherein 2010 the Cardinal would go 12-1 with Andrew Luck at QB. Roman followed Jim to the San Francisco 49ers in 2011, where he would receive credit for the development of Colin Kaepernick, who took over for Alex Smith midway through the 2012 season.

Kaepernick Ascension and Development Similar To Lamar Jackson

Kaepernick would not relinquish the job to Smith, which led to a Smith trade to Kansas City for their 2013 2nd round pick. Similar to the recent Lamar Jackson ascension, Kapernick compiled 17 wins in his first 23 starts while completing only 59% of his passes. In 2013, the Kaepernick led offense would make it to the Super Bowl, where they would lose to John Harbaughs Joe Flacco led Ravens.

While The Kaepernick Parallels are similar in theory, Lamar Jackson has proven to be a more accurate passer (66% in 2018, 63% in 2019) and a more explosive athlete rushing for an NFL record 1206 yards surpassing Michael Vick for the most rush yards by a QB in a single season. The system used by Roman is the same system he implemented with Kaepernick while in San Francisco.