Just over a year ago, days before the Ravens would face the Chiefs in the AFC championship game, John Harbaugh made an indirect appeal to the rest of the NFL: Please, someone take Steve Spagnuolo away from Kansas City.

“Honestly, I don’t understand why I don’t see Steve’s name” linked to head coaching vacancies, said Harbaugh, who worked with the Chiefs’ widely respected defensive coordinator on the Philadelphia Eagles’ staff in the 2000s before hiring him to the Ravens’ defensive staff in 2012. “I’m scratching my head on that one. He’s very deserving of an opportunity.”

Twelve months, two Super Bowl trips and one NFL title later, Spagnuolo is perhaps even more deserving — and yet no closer to another opportunity. Whether it’s because of his age (65), his head coaching record (11-41 overall) or the NFL’s appetite for offensive gurus, Spagnuolo is unlikely to get a head coaching job this cycle. Six of the league’s seven vacancies have been filled, and Spagnuolo has not yet emerged as a favorite for the New Orleans Saints’ opening.

In the NFL, play-calling excellence is not always a pathway to head coaching offers. If it were, Harbaugh might be in the market for a new offensive coordinator. Todd Monken, who oversaw the league’s best offense this season, is expected to remain in Baltimore after a brief spin on the coaching carousel.

The Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars both interviewed Monken before landing on Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen, respectively. The Las Vegas Raiders, meanwhile, requested an interview with Monken early in the process but on Saturday hired former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll.

“It will be very meaningful if and when we get Todd Monken back,” Harbaugh said at the Ravens’ season-ending news conference Wednesday. “I’m very hopeful that we will. … Todd Monken will be a great head coach; I’ll just say that. He’s a really good football coach. He’s an old-school football coach with kind of a new-school and creative mind, always creating. He works well with his staff. We have a great staff around him, so because of that, it would be very meaningful if and when we get him back, and we continue forward.”

If Monken’s 2024 wasn’t enough to warrant a head coaching job, Harbaugh might indeed have his own Spagnuolo in Baltimore. The Ravens finished first in the NFL in rushing and passing efficiency, according to FTN. They became the first team in league history to post 4,000 passing yards and 3,000 rushing yards in a single season. They piled up the third-most yards ever in a single season. Quarterback Lamar Jackson’s growth as a presnap operator helped him earn All-Pro honors and what will likely be his second straight NFL Most Valuable Player award.

But not even sustained success — Monken had top-two offenses in his final two years at Georgia and one of the NFL’s hottest attacks entering the 2023 playoffs — has been enough to move his resume to the top of the pile. Owners have looked elsewhere for head coaching hires in recent years, prioritizing youth with their offense-minded candidates and accolades and experience with their defense-minded candidates.

The Bears’ Johnson is 38. The Jaguars’ Coen is 39. The New England Patriots’ Mike Vrabel and New York Jets’ Aaron Glenn are 49 and 52, respectively, but were Pro Bowl defenders in their playing days. The Raiders’ Carroll, another defense-oriented coach, is 72 but has a Super Bowl title.

Monken turns 59 next month. With every passing year, he moves further from the new target demographic of NFL owners. According to USA Today, the average age of a head coach fell from 53.4 in 2015 to 47.7 at the start of the 2024 season, the league’s lowest mark in at least 25 years. From 2017 to 2023, the share of head coaches hired in their 30s rose from 6% of all vacancies to 36%.

In Baltimore, Monken’s age is just a number. His balanced offense and straight-shooting approach have won admirers at every position. At last Monday’s locker room clean-out, running back Justice Hill praised Monken’s humility — “He doesn’t have a huge ego” — and Pro Bowl wide receiver Zay Flowers said he “did a great job with us” and hoped he’d return in 2025.

“I think you’ve seen the growth from Year 1 to Year 2,” Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard said. “We were so balanced this year. We could do everything, attack anybody any way. He is great to be around. He is a fun coach to play for. He knows how to be serious but also knows how to keep the room light, but also able to get feedback from everybody.”

Now the Ravens are set to build what Harbaugh called “3.0,” the latest iteration of their offense under Monken. His attack got better every season over his three years at Georgia, culminating in a second straight national championship, Heisman Trophy consideration for quarterback Stetson Bennett and an offer to join Harbaugh’s staff.

Through two seasons, the Ravens’ offense is on a similar trajectory. Only postseason success, a Spagnuolo staple, has been elusive. With a strong Year 3, the Ravens should be back in the playoffs next winter. By then, maybe other head coaches will be pleading for someone to please take Monken away from Baltimore, too.