Billick won't let job status affect his game decisions

Much has been speculated about the beleaguered Baltimore coach.
Knight Ridder Newspapers
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Affable and charming to his friends, Brian Billick has made many of them during his college and NFL stops. The Baltimore Ravens' head coach has received plenty of encouragement from them while going 5-9.
But Billick was particularly uplifted by a conversation with one of his best friends in the business, Vikings coach Mike Tice, after the Ravens' 12-10 loss in Denver two weeks ago.
"It's why movie stars marry other movie stars," Billick, 51, said. "They're the only ones that understand the life. Until you sit in one of these chairs, when you talk to someone you know has lived in that same circumstance, you appreciate it all the more."
Since leaving as coordinator of the Vikings' record-breaking offense in 1998, Billick has led the Ravens to a Super Bowl victory and only one losing season before this one. Even if the Ravens beat the Vikings tonight and Cleveland on New Year's Day, they would finish 7-9, same as Billick's 2002 Ravens.
"Throughout my coaching career, when we've had downs -- and believe me, we've had some downs -- he would call and say, 'Hang in there, man,' " Tice said. "That was the first time I had a chance to do that for him."
Secure until now
This also is the first time Billick has had to endure questions about his job security.
There is conjecture on the national airwaves that the team's disappointing season could make this his last in Baltimore, and one local sports columnist speculated in October that offensive coordinator Jim Fassel might replace Billick.
He hasn't brought the offensive firepower to Baltimore that he enjoyed in Minnesota, and his perceived arrogance and aloofness to outsiders doesn't always make him a sympathetic figure.
What's worse is the protocol of Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, who will not comment on his beleaguered coach until after the season. And team spokesman Kevin Byrne said that the usually accessible Ozzie Newsome, the team's general manager, adheres to the same policy as Bisciotti. That has left Billick and his players to field all of the media questions.
Still, Billick said he respects Bisciotti and Newsome for their handling of the situation.
"Them doing what they're doing is something we've collectively agreed upon," Billick said. "That's different here. I'm indeed a part of that process and agree that this is the proper way to proceed, both for now and the future. We're staying true to that."
According to Billick, what does a vote of confidence really mean, anyway? If he gets one now, will he have to get one every time the team struggles? Why not stick to the process?
"That doesn't mean that the time frame doesn't stress your team a little bit," Billick said. "But in this league, there's a certain sense of anxiety when the end of the season approaches."
Background
Billick's reputation started to build momentum in the late 1980s at Utah State, when he took over an offense ranked 107th out of 108 NCAA Division I-A teams. In his final two seasons, the Aggies ranked in the top 10.
Billick then coached receivers and tight ends at Stanford under Dennis Green and followed Green to the Vikings in 1992. By 1993, Billick was promoted to offensive coordinator, and his unit ranked 17th that season. It jumped to third the following season and remained among the league's best during his stay in Minnesota, culminating in 1998, when the Vikings scored an NFL-record 556 points.
"He was very sharp," said Tice, whom Billick coached in 1992. "He is a detail guy. He really was the one that taught me about tendencies and paying attention to tendencies -- not only about paying attention to the opponent's tendencies, but self-tendencies. I have used that to this day, extensively."
In Billick's first season, the Ravens went 8-8. Then, in 2000, Billick's team finished 12-4, earned a wild card, advanced to the Super Bowl and handily defeated the New York Giants 34-7.
The Ravens have made two other playoff appearances since then. But Billick's offensive brilliance has been questioned because the Ravens' offense has ranked no higher than 14th under him. Last season, it was 31st.
"I've never, quite frankly, placed any value on the labels that people throw around," Billick said. "When we were doing everything we were doing in Minnesota -- the guru, genius, mastermind kind of stuff that you guys kind of throw out sometimes -- I've never placed much value on that. I know it doesn't exist. I've never, in 35 years of coaching, ever heard one coach refer to another coach in that way."