Newsome, who built two Super Bowl-winning teams, will remain with the Ravens in an unspecified roleTWITTER
Ravens Exec VP & GM Ozzie Newsome, who has been a "fixture in the organization since its inception, will step aside" after the '18 season and be succeeded by Assistant GM Eric DeCosta, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the BALTIMORE SUN. Owner Steve Bisciotti made the announcement on Friday during his annual “State of the Ravens” address. Bisciotti said, “Ozzie will step down as GM and has assured me that he’s not going anywhere and that he will work with me and work with Eric for a smooth transition.” Newsome will "remain with the team in an unspecified role." He said, “I don’t know what my title will be, but I still will be a very big part of the organization. I’ll be in the building and working with the team every day as usual. This is all part of a five-year plan that I worked out with the owner near the end of my contract." Bisciotti joked, “He’ll be the highest-paid scout in America when Eric takes over next year.” Zrebiec noted Newsome "built two Super Bowl-winning teams in Baltimore, made the Ravens front office one of the gold standards in the league and has had a trailblazing career as a top NFL executive." DeCosta has "been with the organization since the beginning" in '96. Bisciotti’s announcement "comes with the Ravens entering a critical juncture as a franchise and their fans calling for widespread change." The number of empty seats "during key home games at M&T Bank Stadium over the past two seasons was proof of a fan base that was no longer" inspired by the team (BALTIMORE SUN, 2/3).
PASSES THE TEST: PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Michael David Smith noted the Ravens will "not conduct any interviews" for the GM position, which "might sound like a violation of the Rooney Rule." But the NFL said that the Ravens are "permitted, under the Rooney Rule, to promote DeCosta without first interviewing a minority candidate." Part of the Rooney Rule "stipulates that teams can make a promotion of a personnel executive to the top job without conducting any interviews, if the executive has already been labeled as the GM in waiting" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 2/2).
GETTING BACK ON TOP: Bisciotti said his passion for owning the Ravens is "still there" despite missing the playoffs three years in a row. Bisciotti: "My fans lost their enthusiasm for it. I hate losing and my fans hate losing. They get angry and say things they shouldn’t and I get angry and say things I shouldn’t, too. Luckily, I don’t do it front of a microphone usually. I haven’t changed. I’m very comfortable where I am. I’m here for the foreseeable future" (BALTIMORE SUN, 2/3). In Baltimore, Mike Preston wrote DeCosta taking over in '19 is a "move that probably stunned and paralyzed" Ravens fans. But "very little will change" with the team. The move "makes perfect sense." The biggest development that came out of Bisciotti’s news conference was that the Ravens were "going to hire more senior scouts to work within the personnel department." That will be a "major improvement for this team." The Ravens have "decided they need more experienced grunt guys and they managed continuity, which is big in Bisciotti’s world." They are "keeping around the iconic Newsome, the most well-liked person" in the organization, and "hopefully building for the future." Overall, it was a "win-win situation for the Ravens" (BALTIMORE SUN, 2/3).
BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE: In Baltimore, Childs Walker wrote Bisciotti has "lost no faith in his overall vision for the franchise." He still "believes in stability and promoting from within, and his confidence in the organization’s scouting fundamentals is undiminished." Whether that will "satisfy frustrated fans is an open question." The lack of "homegrown playmakers has haunted this franchise for much of its history" and there is "no guarantee the Ravens will find such a player this offseason." Their track record in this area "isn’t impressive," but at least they are "discussing the problem with appropriate urgency." Bisciotti also "offered a measured response when asked about his players’ protest before their Sept. 24 game in London." He said that he "supports the dozen or so Ravens who knelt that day and praised other players who’ve spoken out around the league." But he also said that if he had "had more time to talk with players before the game, he would have urged them to find a different way to convey their message." Some fans will "latch onto that as a sign of Bisciotti’s conservatism and paint him as an enemy of players’ free speech." It is a "polarizing issue, and Bisciotti probably won’t make many people happy by staking out a conciliatory middle ground," but he has "been consistent with his views" (BALTIMORE SUN, 2/3).
