Offensive Coordinator

The buyout  that Maryland negotiated with former defensive coordinator Todd Bradford is to pay him $300,000, according to a copy of the agreement obtained under a public records request. The document, dated Jan. 12 and obtained today, says Bradford was to get $50,000 on Feb. 3 and will receive $250,000 on July 12. Bradford, hired from Southern Mississippi, was at Maryland for just one season and was replaced by the University of Houston's Brian Stewart. Bradford's contract had two seasons left and had guaranteed him $350,000 per year.

Former Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien is expected to join the Maryland football staff early next week, replacing Rod Sharpless, who resigned, sources said yesterday. Yesterday, O'Brien, 32, would only confirm that he had tendered his resignation to Georgia Tech, where he began working as graduate assistant coach in 1995. He became the Yellow Jackets' running backs coach in 1998 and rose to their top offensive post after the 2000 season, when Ralph Friedgen left to become Maryland's head coach.

When Jim Caldwell arrived in Indianapolis in 2002 to become the quarterbacks coach for the Colts, Peyton Manning was a good NFL quarterback on the verge of becoming an all-time great. A year later, Manning was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player for the first time, an honor he would earn three more times under the tutelage of Caldwell. He won a Super Bowl in 2006 and went to another in 2009, the year Caldwell replaced Tony Dungy as the Colts' head coach. On a conference call with Baltimore media Wednesday, Manning, now the quarterback of the 10-3 Denver Broncos, was quick to acknowledge the nudge that Caldwell gave him in Indianapolis.

It's been four games since Jim Caldwell replaced Cam Cameron as the team's offensive coordinator. One might think that Caldwell is feeling comfortable with his role, but he disagreed Thursday with the notion that he is “settled in.” “I don't think we ever really feel comfortable and settled in,” he said. “But I'm a bit more familiar with some things. But it's a real challenge, calling plays and adjusting. But I've got a lot of help with assistant coaches that are on the staff.

For the second time in five years, the Ravens meet an opponent desperately seeking its first win of the season in the month of December. On Dec. 16, 2007, the Ravens were stunned in overtime by a 0-13 Miami Dolphins team. The head coach of Miami at the time? None other than Cam Cameron, who is currently the Ravens offensive coordinator. The 0-12 Indianapolis Colts visit M&T Bank Stadium Sunday, but Cameron, who knows a thing or two about desperate teams, said he doesn't feel it is necessary to give the Ravens a lesson on that subject.

With replacement officials continuing to work NFL games indefinitely, there is a theory that defensive players will take advantage by being more aggressive with opposing receivers to disrupt their timing with their quarterbacks. That may not be far-fetched, but Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron said the coaches and receivers can't concern themselves with the holding and grabbing they can expect as they run their routes. “Defensive guys are allowed to jam you and even grab and hold you,” he said Thursday.

College Park -- The red golf cart usually occupied by Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen has been parked and empty at spring football practices, evidence of the coaching change that has occurred. Friedgen can no longer use the cart to zip from squad to squad, barking orders at his players during drills. Somebody has to coach the quarterbacks. The unexpected departure of offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe less than two months before spring practices began left Friedgen with little time to hire a replacement.

Despite the lack of a big play in the running game early in the third quarter, the Ravens kept pounding and pounding away at the Denver Broncos' front seven. And with each rushing attempt came more criticism until running back Ray Rice produced a 32-yard run late in the third period that eventually led to a 1-yard touchdown run just over a minute later. Finally, old school football might have returned to Baltimore with new offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell. The Ravens haven't seen this type of patience or discipline on offense since Ted Marchibroda was coach in the 1990s.

More than two months since he was relieved of his duties as the Ravens offensive coordinator, Cam Cameron officially returned to coaching today, this time at the college level.   The 52-year-old, who called the Ravens' offensive plays for five seasons before he was fired by head coach John Harbaugh a day after the team's Dec. 9 loss to the Washington Redskins, was announced today as LSU 's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, reuniting him with his longtime friend, Tigers coach Les Miles . Cameron and Miles worked together for seven years on the University of Michigan coaching staff, prompting a question about whether he has any concerns working with a close friend.

A day after the most drastic coaching upheaval under Brian Billick, the Ravens have the sense they might lose another staff member. Offensive coordinator Jim Fassel had the first of what should be many head coaching interviews this offseason, speaking with the Kansas City Chiefs on Tuesday. (Kansas City and the New York Jets discussed a compensation package for Herman Edwards yesterday, the Associated Press reported.) Fassel, who has spent just one season as coordinator for the Ravens, has been linked to the Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers.