You know when you just have that feeling that something bad is about to happen? You can't explain it, but you know in your heart of hearts nothing good is headed your way -- I have that feeling.
If John Harbaugh's staff decisions have given New York Giants fans any indication, it's that he really likes his guys. Everyone he's brought in from outside -- Dennard Wilson, Dennis Johnson, Chris Horton, Willie Taggart -- all of them have worked with Harbs previously. That's what made Todd Monken all but a shoo-in for the vacant offensive coordinator position.
Until he agreed to become the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, that is.
Now, it's anyone's guess as to who the G-Men will pivot to. But there are a couple of names at the top. Tee Martin was Harbaugh's quarterbacks coach in Baltimore. Davis Webb was a former QB for the Giants. And Charlie Weis Jr. coached Big Blue franchise QB Jaxson Dart during his three years at Ole Miss. Any of those three would be fine by me... but then that feeling creeps back. And my mind suddenly remembers Greg Roman, and the good feelings go away.
Avoiding Greg Roman might be the most important hire for John Harbaugh
Roman is no stranger to the Harbaugh family. He landed his first offensive coordinator job under brother Jim Harbaugh with the San Francisco 49ers in 2011, holding the role for four seasons. After that, he made a lateral move to the Buffalo Bills for two years. Following his time in Buffalo, he reunited with John and spent four seasons as the Ravens’ OC.
Most recently, he spent two seasons with Jim again, this time with the Los Angeles Chargers, before being fired earlier this offseason and replaced by Mike McDaniel.
I'm sure he's a nice guy, but the 53-year-old would be a nightmare fit for where the G-Men are right now. His offenses have always been built to grind games into dust, not stretch the field or make life easier on the QB.
Roman’s passing concepts have aged poorly, his spacing issues are well-documented, and his inability to adjust once defenses take away the run has burned every stop he’s had. Big Blue needs creativity. The always-an-OC-but-never-the-HC brings predictability, frustration, and a shelf life that expires the moment the league catches up, which it always does.
Related: John Harbaugh has fascinating fallback if Todd Monken waiting game backfires
And yet, you can never fully rule him out. Roman is practically stamped with the Harbaugh family seal of approval at this point, making him a sneaky-legitimate candidate. Harby trusts him, understands his system, and knows exactly what he’s getting, even if that’s not what Giants fans -- or Harbs -- want.
If the OC search goes any more off the rails, Roman is the kind of fallback option that suddenly feels “safe," even if it terrifies everyone outside of it. That’s the scary part. Not that Greg Roman is the right answer, but that with the Harbaugh ties, he’s always an answer.
Just because Monken is out of the running doesn't mean it's time to panic. Harbs has done an elite job building his staff to this point. Let's hope he wraps it up with an electric OC hire, whose name doesn't rhyme with Breg Homan.