Roman was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey and grew up in nearby Ventnor. He and his two older brothers, Jeff and Jim, were raised by his mom after his parents divorced. Roman never had a relationship with his father.[1] At age 10, with his family strapped for cash, Roman got his first job as a paperboy for the Atlantic City newspaper The Press; during the summers he worked as a "runner" on the beaches of South Jersey. The money he made, in addition to helping to support his family, helped him to pay for his education at a nearby private high school.[1] He graduated from Holy Spirit High School in Absecon, New Jersey where he played football for the Holy Spirit Spartans. In his senior year at Holy Spirit, he was named to the All-South Jersey team.[2] After graduation in 1991, Roman got an academic scholarship to attend John Carroll University in the Cleveland suburb of University Heights.[3][1]
Roman played football for the John Carroll Blue Streaks for three years, winning the starting job as a defensive lineman in his last two years. He earned All-Ohio Athletic Conference honorable mention status following his senior season in which he recorded 80 tackles and six sacks. That year the Blue Streaks defense allowed a league-low 98 points in 10 games and enabled the John Carroll University football team to capture a share of the OAC championship. Roman finished his collegiate career with 145 tackles, 20.0 tackles-for-loss and 9.5 sacks.
Greg Roman is married to Dana, and they have three children, Connor, Gregory, and Emily.
[4]
Coaching career
Carolina Panthers
Roman's first coaching job was with the Carolina Panthers in 1995, where he started as the unpaid strength and conditioning coach.[1]
Houston Texans
In 2002, Roman was hired by the expansion Houston Texans as their tight ends and quarterbacks coach.
Baltimore Ravens (first stint)
In 2006, Roman was hired by the Baltimore Ravens as an offensive line assistant.[5]
Holy Spirit HS
In 2008, Roman returned to his alma mater and served as the offensive coordinator at Holy Spirit High School.[6]
Stanford
In 2009, Roman was hired and served for two years as associate head coach at Stanford, under head coach Jim Harbaugh.[6] In 2010, Roman was a finalist for the Broyles Award, given annually to the nation's top college football assistant coach.
San Francisco 49ers
When Harbaugh left Stanford in 2011 to become head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, Roman followed and was named the offensive coordinator.[7] He remained at the position until 2014.
Buffalo Bills
On January 12, 2015, Roman was hired by the Buffalo Bills to be their offensive coordinator under newly hired head coach Rex Ryan.[8] On September 16, 2016, Roman was relieved of his duties after a 37–31 loss to the New York Jets.
In 2017, the Ravens hired Roman as a senior offensive assistant and tight ends coach under head coach John Harbaugh; in 2018 he was promoted to assistant head coach and tight ends coach. In 2019, the Ravens opted to completely revamp the offense and the then offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg decided to retire. Roman, who had coached Colin Kaepernick at San Francisco, was promoted to offensive coordinator.[9] He was tasked with the development of a new offense based on his experiences as a tight ends coach and in football theory.[1] It was centered on the Ravens' new quarterback, Lamar Jackson and running back Mark Ingram II.[9][10] In Roman's first full season in charge of the Ravens' offense, after 12 games, the team averaged 33.8 points per game; best in the NFL. The prolific season ended in a playoff exit that deviated from those run heavy schemes which became a notable point in the legacy of the achievements from that season.[11]
On January 19, 2023, the Ravens announced that Roman had resigned as the team's offensive coordinator following the Ravens' loss in the Wild Card round of the 2022–23 NFL playoffs against the Cincinnati Bengals.[12] Roman was replaced by Todd Monken, who installed a more passing oriented offense in Baltimore.
