BACH
Superbowl, Homeboy!
FASSEL OUT AS RAVENS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
A league source tells us (and a reader advises us that there's a local radio report to this effect) that the Ravens have parted ways offensive coordinator Jim Fassel.
At this point, it's not clear whether it was a firing, a resignation, a mutual decision, or a Charley Casserly (i.e., an involuntary move sold as voluntary or mutual).
The departure will be announced at 12:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday.
Fassel has been with the Ravens since 2004. He initially signed on as a consultant, due in part to the fact that he could have bolted before the end of the season for a head coaching job with another team. When no offers came, he replaced Matt Cavanaugh as offensive coordinator in 2005.
The fact that Billick has made the move suggests, in our view, that the noose is tightening around the veteran head coach's neck. Some league insiders believe that Billick would have been fired after the 2005 season if a stronger field of replacement candidates had been available. Regardless, he's clearly under a "win or else" mandate from G.M. Ozzie Newsome and owner Steve Bisciotti, which likely prompted Billick to eschew (we learned that word from Tirico) his long-standing friendship with Fassel and pull the plug.
It's also possible that the decision wasn't even made by Billick.
Fassel and Billick clashed a bit in 2005, as rumors mounted that Fassel was positioning himself to replace Billick.
We're not sure that a change at this point will make any difference to the team's anemic offensive attack. Billick came to Baltimore in 1999 as an offensive wizard in the mold of Bill Walsh. Since then, Billick's offenses have been downright offensive. But for a defense-driven Super Bowl, Billick would have been long gone by now.
Though Browns fans are hoping that Maurice Carthon will be named as the replacement, our guess is that the job will go to quarterbacks coach Rick Neuheisel for the balance of the season
A league source tells us (and a reader advises us that there's a local radio report to this effect) that the Ravens have parted ways offensive coordinator Jim Fassel.
At this point, it's not clear whether it was a firing, a resignation, a mutual decision, or a Charley Casserly (i.e., an involuntary move sold as voluntary or mutual).
The departure will be announced at 12:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday.
Fassel has been with the Ravens since 2004. He initially signed on as a consultant, due in part to the fact that he could have bolted before the end of the season for a head coaching job with another team. When no offers came, he replaced Matt Cavanaugh as offensive coordinator in 2005.
The fact that Billick has made the move suggests, in our view, that the noose is tightening around the veteran head coach's neck. Some league insiders believe that Billick would have been fired after the 2005 season if a stronger field of replacement candidates had been available. Regardless, he's clearly under a "win or else" mandate from G.M. Ozzie Newsome and owner Steve Bisciotti, which likely prompted Billick to eschew (we learned that word from Tirico) his long-standing friendship with Fassel and pull the plug.
It's also possible that the decision wasn't even made by Billick.
Fassel and Billick clashed a bit in 2005, as rumors mounted that Fassel was positioning himself to replace Billick.
We're not sure that a change at this point will make any difference to the team's anemic offensive attack. Billick came to Baltimore in 1999 as an offensive wizard in the mold of Bill Walsh. Since then, Billick's offenses have been downright offensive. But for a defense-driven Super Bowl, Billick would have been long gone by now.
Though Browns fans are hoping that Maurice Carthon will be named as the replacement, our guess is that the job will go to quarterbacks coach Rick Neuheisel for the balance of the season
