Coach Ted Marchibroda

A family tragedy prevented Ravens coach Ted Marchibroda from attending the post-game news conference last night.He learned after the game that the only sister of his wife Ann, Eileen Gabreski, 68, had been killed in a car accident near Pittsburgh at about 8 o'clock last night. Gabreski was the mother of eight children.Marchibroda left to join his wife as soon as he got the news.Pub Date: 8/03/97

Whenever the Colts make the playoffs, stories begin to fly about the first game someone attended in Baltimore, back when it didn't pain us to see the horseshoe emblem on the helmets. ... As a kid, I couldn't wait to get out of Sunday school in Severn so I could watch the Colts, which amounted to my own religious experience. When home games were blacked out, I'd sit in the living room with my parents and sister and listen to Chuck Thompson and Vince Bagli on the radio. How many of you remember Marshall Johnson?

The agent for free-agent defensive end Michael Bankston sent the Ravens a proposal last night and is hoping to close a deal with Baltimore soon."We had a long discussion, and I think we'll get an answer soon on whether [Bankston] is going to sign, once and for all," said Gene Burrough, Bankston's agent, who is seeking a three-year contract."Does it look promising? I have no idea. They [Ravens] haven't given me any indication yet," Burrough added.Bankston, 6 feet 3, 280 pounds and entering his sixth season, was seventh on the Arizona Cardinals with 89 tackles last year.

There is an electric air of anticipation around Baltimore as the Ravens conclude their preparations to open the 2001 NFL season in defense of their world championship. This euphoric feeling is in stark contrast to the atmosphere surrounding the training camp of the Baltimore Colts a quarter of a century ago. "Rebellion" rather than "repeat" was the word most often heard among the 1976 Colts, rallying in support of their coach, Ted Marchibroda, who had resigned a week before the season opener in a power struggle with general manager Joe Thomas.

Whenever the Colts make the playoffs, stories begin to fly about the first game someone attended in Baltimore, back when it didn't pain us to see the horseshoe emblem on the helmets. ... As a kid, I couldn't wait to get out of Sunday school in Severn so I could watch the Colts, which amounted to my own religious experience. When home games were blacked out, I'd sit in the living room with my parents and sister and listen to Chuck Thompson and Vince Bagli on the radio. How many of you remember Marshall Johnson?

HOW CAN pro football fans who remember details of a game 40 years ago have such short memories otherwise?Wasn't it just a few years ago that Baltimore pined for a team and a Camden Yards-quality football stadium for it to play in? Aren't Sundays more entertaining now that the National Football League has returned? Isn't downtown more vibrant on game days?No, the Ravens didn't make the playoffs their first three seasons. But teams down today may be up tomorrow. Organizations with storied pasts such as football's Green Bay Packers and baseball's New York Yankees are winning again, but only after long stretches of mediocrity.

Baltimore football coach Ted Marchibroda officially hired five coaches from the former Cleveland Browns staff yesterday, but he is still in search of a defensive coordinator.One of the latest candidates to turn down the job is Bill Arnsparger, 69, architect of the Miami Dolphins' "No-Name Defense" in the early 1970s, and the "Killer B's" defense of the early 1980s.Arnsparger's last job was defensive coordinator with the San Diego Chargers from 1992 through 1994.Kevin Byrne, a team vice president, confirmed that Arnsparger showed initial interest, but later declined a position as either a consultant or defensive coordinator.

The Ravens' coaching staff has been selected to coach the North squad in the 1998 Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., which the Ravens believe will give them an upper hand headed into the NFL draft in April.According to Ozzie Newsome, the Ravens' vice president of player personnel, the Ravens' staff will head to Mobile on Jan. 11 to begin coaching for the game that will be played Jan. 17. Washington Redskins coach Norv Turner will coach the South squad.This is the third time Ravens coach Ted Marchibroda has participated in the game.

Ravens coach Ted Marchibroda said he plans to talk with former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly next week about the possibility of returning to the NFL in a Baltimore uniform.Marchibroda, back in Baltimore after he and his staff coached the North squad in Saturday's Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., has watched tape of Kelly during 1996, his final season with the Bills.Kelly, who will turn 38 next month, retired after that season, the worst of his 11-year run in Buffalo. His passing rating (73.2)

In a day that featured addition and subtraction, Baltimore's NFL team completed the formation of its coaching staff yesterday and announced it was laying off more than half of its full-time, front-office staff in Cleveland.About 30 of the team's approximately 50 front-office staff members have been given pink slips and severance pay packages, which will take effect April 1. By that time, the team intends to have its Baltimore operation running at full strength."I'm saddened by it. It's very unpleasant, particularly as it relates to people with many years of service here [in Cleveland]

HOW CAN pro football fans who remember details of a game 40 years ago have such short memories otherwise?Wasn't it just a few years ago that Baltimore pined for a team and a Camden Yards-quality football stadium for it to play in? Aren't Sundays more entertaining now that the National Football League has returned? Isn't downtown more vibrant on game days?No, the Ravens didn't make the playoffs their first three seasons. But teams down today may be up tomorrow. Organizations with storied pasts such as football's Green Bay Packers and baseball's New York Yankees are winning again, but only after long stretches of mediocrity.

PreseasonCoach Ted Marchibroda stubbornly refused to acknowledge the obvious regarding his offensive backfield. He stuck with Jay Graham at tailback, even though Errict Rhett, acquired in a February trade for a third-round draft pick, outplayed Graham in training camp and the preseason. Four days before the season opener, Marchibroda gave Rhett the job, which did wonders for Graham's confidence.Season openerFans will remember the game as a dark comedy of errors that set the tone for a lost season.

Usually, Ravens owner Art Modell calls head coach Ted Marchibroda on Monday mornings, but yesterday he made a special trip to the team's Owings Mills complex. After a hug, a handshake and about 10 minutes of conversation, Modell left Marchibroda's office with tears in his eyes.Modell, who moved his team from Cleveland to Baltimore three )) years ago, fired the Ravens' first head coach after Marchibroda failed to get into playoff contention, finishing the 1998 season with a 6-10 record and a 16-31-1 mark during the past three seasons.

Despite the Ravens' 5-9 record, coach Ted Marchibroda said there is nothing he could have done differently for his team in the 1998 season.The Ravens have the NFL's 23rd-ranked offense, the No. 22 defense and have lost two of their last three games. Marchibroda is 15-30-1 in the three years the team has been in Baltimore and is expected to be fired by owner Art Modell shortly after the season.Modell said he will not make an official decision until he meets with members of his front office and coaching staff at season's end. If a new coach is named, the announcement will come by late January, the owner said.

As owner Art Modell watched the festive atmosphere and the euphoria of a sellout crowd of 68,898 celebrating the Ravens' 38-31 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday at Ravens stadium, he concluded that his team had finally arrived in Baltimore and expressed optimism about the future, even though the status of coach Ted Marchibroda still is undecided.Modell said yesterday that he will begin meeting with members of his front office within the next three weeks to attack issues concerning the team.

So much of what Jim Harbaugh does on a football field is spontaneous. His last and best handoff yesterday was no different.Harbaugh sees defenders coming, he scrambles out of the pocket. He saw John Unitas on the Ravens' sideline, he ran over to give him the game ball.A bow to the past? A gesture for the fans? A tribute to the greatest Colt of all?"Don't give me that much credit. I'm not that smart," Harbaugh said after leading the Ravens' 38-31 victory over Indianapolis."He's always been a hero of mine.

Former Washington Redskins coach Richie Petitbon has turned down an offer to join the Baltimore franchise as defensive coordinator, and player personnel director Michael Lombardi resigned yesterday.Baltimore head coach Ted Marchibroda said he spoke with Petitbon, 57, a longtime friend, recently about the position, but Petitbon said no thanks.Petitbon was in the league for 34 years, but has been in retirement since he was fired after the Washington Redskins went 4-12 in 1993, Petitbon's only year as head coach.

Coach Ted Marchibroda was asked yesterday about San Francisco rubbing it in by scoring on a 1-yard sneak with 16 seconds left in Sunday's 38-20 loss."I couldn't understand what their thoughts were," he said.When asked if he would do the same thing in a similar situation, Marchibroda said, "I wouldn't. But to the victors belong the spoils. If that's what they want to do, that's fine. That's their business."Is it something he'll remember down the road? "I hope so."TD-pass slippageSunday's game was the first in nine weeks in which Vinny Testaverde didn't throw at least two touchdown passes.

Youth is not always served in the National Football League.That was the message from Ravens coach Ted Marchibroda and the team's vice president of player personnel Ozzie Newsome yesterday as they sifted through the wreckage of the team's 3-7 season.In the wake of the poor showing in the 14-13 loss to the San Diego Chargers Sunday, both said the team's youth is one of the problems it has yet to overcome."I think it's maturity," Newsome said. "That's probably the biggest point. You have to understand how to win. We have a young team.

It may be a dire situation that calls for Superman, but the Ravens hope they have the answer in Capt. Comeback.For the second straight week, coach Ted Marchibroda said at his Monday news conference that he wouldn't name his starting quarterback until tomorrow, when the team starts practicing for Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Ravens stadium.All indications, though, are that Marchibroda will go back to Capt. Comeback, Jim Harbaugh, as his starter against the Jaguars -- a team the Ravens/Browns franchise has never beaten in seven tries.