One of the NFL’s most highly-regarded assistant coaches could be making the move to the NCAA.
Greg Roman is in his fourth season as the Baltimore Ravens’ offensive coordinator. The 50-year-old has received some consideration for NFL head coaching gigs thanks to his success working with with 2019 league MVP and quarterback Lamar Jackson.
But if Roman leaves the Ravens after this season, it may not be for an NFL coaching job, but rather the opportunity to lead a big program in the NCAA.
According to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, it’s believed that Roman and the Stanford Cardinal have mutual interest. The coaching vacancy opened up last week after David Shaw announced his resignation from the program:
“Stanford University has its eyes on Greg Roman, sources say, and the Ravens’ offensive coordinator is considered to be a top candidate for its vacant head coaching job.
The school that is looking to replace longtime head coach David Shaw, who recently stepped down after 12 seasons, believes the interest is mutual.
Athletic Director Bernard Muir, who spoke with Roman recently, left the conversation encouraged. Roman would be potentially returning to his college football home, as he served as assistant head coach at Stanford under Jim Harbaugh from 2009-2010.”
Roman had worked as an assistant for the Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans and Ravens before joining Stanford in 2009. There, he worked as the team’s tight ends and offensive tackles coach before joining Jim Harbaugh’s staff with the San Francisco 49ers.
Roman worked as the 49ers’ offensive coordinator in each of Harbaugh’s four years there, and the duo helped the team reach three straight NFC Championship Games as well as Super Bowl 47, where they fell to Roman’s current team in the Ravens.
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Harbaugh and the 49ers parted ways after the 2014 season, and the former accepted the Michigan Wolverines’ head coaching position. Roman served as the Buffalo Bills’ offensive coordinator under Rex Ryan from 2015 to 2016 before returning to the Baltimore organization in 2017.
The Ravens boasted the NFL’s No. 1 scoring offense under Roman in 2019, averaging 33.2 points per game. They had a top-10 scoring offense again in 2020, and they came into Sunday’s game with the No. 8 scoring unit (25.0 points per game).
Will Roman eventually get his first ever head coaching position at any level? Only time will tell, but it truly only feels like a matter of time.
