After Losing Gary Kubiak, Marc Trestman Best Plan B Ravens Could Ask for at OC

There's been more than a little turmoil surrounding the Baltimore Ravens following their playoff loss to the New England Patriots, with offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak jumping ship to become the new head coach of the Denver Broncos.

Well, the Ravens have found Kubiak's replacement, and in tabbing former Chicago Bears head coach Marc Trestman to run the offense, head coach John Harbaugh and general manager Ozzie Newsome played the hand they were dealt about as well as could reasonably be expected.

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com was among those who reported that the Ravens had agreed to terms with Trestman.

The 59-year-old Trestman, who we last saw steering the Bears into a smoking crater in 2014, went 13-19 in two years as the head man in the Windy City.

However, while Trestman may have bombed in a big way in his first stab at being a head coach at the NFL level, that doesn't change the fact that he's a keen offensive mind with extensive coaching experience.

Year(s)	Team	Position
1985-86	Minnesota Vikings	RB Coach
1987	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	QB Coach
1988-89	Cleveland Browns	QB Coach/Offensive Coordinator
1990-91	Minnesota Vikings	QB Coach
1995-96	San Francisco 49ers	QB Coach/Offensive Coordinator
1997	Detroit Lions	QB Coach
1998-2000	Arizona Cardinals	QB Coach/Offensive Coordinator
2001-03	Oakland Raiders	QB Coach/Offensive Coordinator
2004	Miami Dolphins	Assistant Head Coach
2013-2014	Chicago Bears	Head Coach

In fact, this marks Trestman's fifth stop as an offensive coordinator at the NFL level, albeit his first in this capacity since Trestman ran the Oakland Raiders offense in 2002 and 2003.

The same Raiders offense that led the NFL in both total yards and passing yards en route to an MVP award for quarterback Rich Gannon and a trip to Super Bowl XXXVII for the Raiders.

Granted, that Super Bowl turned out about as well for the Raiders as last year did for the Bears. But whether it's in Oakland with Gannon, in Arizona with Jake Plummer or two years ago with Jay Cutler and Josh McCown in Chicago, Trestman has a lengthy track record of getting the best out of his quarterbacks.

It was lost in last year's dumpster fire, but the Bears actually entered the 2014 season with positive momentum, momentum borne of an offense that led the NFC at 27.8 points per game in 2013.

Given that success, it would appear this move bodes well for quarterback Joe Flacco. After a rocky 2013 campaign, Flacco had a career-best year under Kubiak in 2014, setting personal bests in yardage and touchdowns while posting a passer rating over 90 for only the second time in his career.

Comp.	Att.	Pct.	Yards	TD	INT	Rating
344	554	62.1	3986	27	12	91.0

That career season made it all the more stinging when Kubiak backtracked on his pledge to stay in Baltimore to take the Denver job, but in the opinion of Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, the Ravens made the best of a bad situation:

If nothing else, it's a void the Ravens are getting used to filling on the fly. This marks the second time in as many years the Ravens have watched their offensive coordinator leave after a single season in that post to take a head coaching job.

And it's hard to argue La Canfora's point. Yes, Trestman's first stint as a head coach at the NFL level didn't go as well as his time in the CFL with the Montreal Alouettes.

Maybe it's the huge end zones. Or the 34 players in motion all at once. Canadian football is entertaining, but in some respects it's a bit kooky. Sorry, Canada—it just is.

Or maybe (GASP!) Trestman just isn't a good head coach.

That doesn't mean the man has forgotten how to coach period. We're talking about a coach with about two decades of experience coaching in the NFL, and from a strictly offensive standpoint, Trestman's resume features a lot more hits than misses.

The Ravens aren't some young team searching for an offensive identity. They're a perennial playoff contender who need someone to make sure the trains run on time. Trestman can be that guy, while rehabbing his image a la Jim Caldwell and Kubiak before him.

Now, this isn't to say that the Trestman hire is absolutely guaranteed to succeed. Trestman's philosophy differs from Kubiak, who has historically been a more run-heavy play-caller.

There are also several personnel issues that must be addressed, including the impending free agency of key offensive contributors like running back Justin Forsett, wide receiver Torrey Smith and tight end Owen Daniels.

Still, this was a position the Ravens didn't even expect to find themselves in until the Denver job suddenly opened up. The team has quite a bit of money invested in Flacco, who turned the big "3-0" earlier this month.

For the team to be able to replace Kubiak with an offensive coordinator with Trestman's resume, history of success on offense and track record with quarterbacks was a coup for the team, and one that sets them up well to be in the thick of the playoff race in the AFC North again in 2015.

Gary Davenport is an NFL Analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter @IDPManor.