FRAN THE FAN: Remembering Brian

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Fran The Fan - FRAN THE FAN: Remembering Brian

An overdue ode to Coach Billick

Posted On: 2/15/08

Written By:

Fran "The Fan" Vojik

A new era for the Ravens began on January 19^th when Steve Bisciotti named John Harbaugh head coach. We now have two new coordinators, and a bunch of new assistants. The staff is set, and the look at Owings Mills is refreshing.

The NFL is in a bit of down time now; the Super Bowl is over (and boy, was I wrong about my pick!) and draft mania is just starting to heat up. It’s time to reflect on things past and what we as Ravens fans should hope for in ’08.

First of all, I hope John Harbaugh gets his hands around the team’s multiple discipline problems. False starts, delays of game, and unnecessary time outs are just part of it. Anytime you allow your Pro Bowl safety to free lance in a way that continually results in hanging your CBs out to dry, watch your (former) Pro Bowl linebacker throw a penalty flag into the stands in a fit of temper that might have cost us the Patriots game, or get called out by your middle linebacker on the radio, you have serious discipline problems.

Ultimately, you have to lay discipline (or lack thereof) at Brian Billick’s feet. In terms of team performance it almost makes a fan wish we had more Ravens turn up on Mike Florio’s ProfootballTalk.com “Turd” meter instead. Sometimes, I would have taken less of Billick’s “character,” and more wins.

But friends, Baltimoreans, & Ravens fans, today I have come to praise Brian Billick, not to bury him.

OK, OK, Brian was never the offensive genius everyone expected him to be, but he was a superb organizer and motivator. He managed everything, including the media, like a symphony conductor. Everything was scripted, from the first OTAs to the playoffs – everything, it seems, except the outcome of games.

Brian Billick led the Ravens to a Super Bowl win. Let me say that again. Brian Billick led the Ravens to a Super Bowl win. Not Marvin Lewis, not Ozzie Newsome. It was Billick’s leadership, motivation, and management that carried the Ravens through that long 2000 TD drought and in directing an offense that was basically paid not to lose games. Too bad his message got old with the players who were here as long as him. Brian always had their back. Too bad they couldn’t return the favor. I hope they’re all happy because, in Billick’s firing, the players got exactly what they wanted. The payback begins for real in late July.

I will always remember the sounds bites and words Brian used in the press and in dealings with the public. I’m sure every Ravens fan has his favorite “Billickisms”, and here’s my short and, I’m sure, incomplete list:

“The dynamic of the situation is such that….”

“We have a process that we follow.”

“(You name the QB) has to follow his progressions.”

“(You name the QB) had good pacing on his passes.”

“Trust me” re: Stoney Case, Scott Mitchell (aka Water Buffalo), Tony Banks, ad infinitum.

“I’ll bank on character every time.”

"We'll make the appropriate comments and turn them into the appropriate people and move on to the next game."

“That’s an unfair characterization.”

“Obviously, we'll make all our judgments going forward."

“We need to raise our play to the next level.”

"We didn't feel like we were in the right configuration.”

"I'll leave that to those who think they know it better." (A brilliant snipe at the media!)

And the unforgettable

“KYLE PLAYED VERY, VERY WELL”

Will John Harbaugh ever be as entertaining?

Another, often overlooked contribution Billick made to the Ravens is that, for the better part of 9 years, he was the face and mouth piece of the franchise. Not Art Modell (post 2001), not Ozzie Newsome, and certainly not Steve Bisciotti. Bisciotti shuts down once training camp starts until his State of the Union address at the end of the year and Ozzie is practically invisible the day after the NFL draft. Looking back on it, this was a really unfair burden that Billick carried, even if he chose to carry it.

Billick took a lot of bullets for this organization. He was not only the face of the franchise; he was often the dart board. He single-handedly deflected media questions directed at Ray Lewis during the run up to Super Bowl XXXV and he paid for it over the next 7 years. There are some national writers who, to this day, will not talk to Billick because he publicly called them out.

The blame for mid-round draft picks that couldn’t cut the mustard was often laid on Billick’s coaching rather than Newsome’s scouting. Just like eight years in the Oval Office ages every president, Brian has aged markedly over his tenure. The look on his face after every unexpected loss this year showed the wear and tear. At the end, even after the Steelers win, he looked like a tired, old man.

I wish Brian well. A long and lucrative career as a broadcast analyst awaits him whenever he wants to do it. In a TV network football setting he’d make Bill Cowher look like a shrinking violet. In a year or two I’m sure he’ll be mentioned around the league as head coaching material. Let’s face it; a Super Bowl win carries a lot of cache. Or maybe he’ll sit back and take that 15 million coming to him and hone his skills as an Eastern Shore gentleman farmer.

It doesn’t matter. Whatever you do Brian, enjoy yourself.

And thanks for the memories.