Marc Trestman is off to a fast start in Baltimore. (Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports)
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Baltimore Ravens coordinator Marc Trestman is already putting an emotional imprint on the offense while adjusting to his new team.
The former Chicago Bears head coach sprinted downfield to congratulate rookie wide receiver Breshad Perriman after the first-round draft pick from Central Florida caught a long touchdown pass Monday from quarterback Joe Flacco.
“I’ve always been pretty active coaching on the field in a positive way,” Trestman said. “Very passionate, outwardly emotional at the right time. I just kind of let it happen the way it does during practice and in games, but more in practice where you have a chance to move around a little bit more, be a little bit more verbal with the players, because there is time to do that and to coach on the run. So, that’s all part of it.”
Trestman replaced Gary Kubiak, the new head coach of the Denver Broncos, after being fired by the Bears. Trestman has a lot of work to do in his first season as the Ravens’ coordinator. Baltimore finished 13th in passing and eighth in rushing last season.
Although the Ravens are strong at quarterback with Flacco and at running back with Justin Forsett, they have to settle on a starting wide receiver opposite five-time Pro Bowl selection Steve Smith and decide how to divide up playing time at tight end between Crockett Gillmore and rookie Maxx Williams.
Trestman hasn’t made dramatic changes, running the same zone-blocking system that Kubiak installed.
“I just come out here and just try to get them better every day and work on the new things that we’re doing and improve on the things we have been working on since the day we got out here,” Trestman said.
Trestman and Flacco appear to be hitting it off quickly, and Flacco likes that Trestman is more of a proponent of deep passes than Kubiak.
“I wouldn’t want to make comparisons,” said Trestman, who has coached everyone from Bernie Kosar to Jay Cutler and is nicknamed the Quarterback Whisperer. “Joe has a personality that is unique to him. There is a quiet confidence. There’s a calmness. I’ve certainly enjoyed the process of getting to know him and, still, it’s a learning process as we move forward.”
Trestman is expected to have a heavy pass-catching role for Forsett the way he did with running back Matt Forte in Chicago.
“When we first brought (Trestman) in and he was here, I looked at his track record,” Forsett said. “Most recently, Forte caught like 100-and-something passes last year, I think, so that kind of let me know that I could be getting a lot more passes than I did last year.”
