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The Cleveland Browns are naming Todd Monken as their head coach, according to multiple reports.
Monken had been Baltimore’s offensive coordinator for the past three seasons, and his appointment comes after several high-profile candidates rejected the Browns. He has also interviewed for Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator opening and was tied to the New York Giants offensive coordinator spot after John Harbaugh was named coach.
Monken is the seventh coach hired by owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam since they bought the franchise in 2012. The previous six compiled a 73-139-1 regular-season record, the second-worst mark in the NFL over that span. The Browns were 5-12 this season and 8-26 the past two years, despite boasting a strong defense.
Cleveland interviewed 10 people for the opening after Kevin Stefanski was fired at the start of January.
After announcing Stefanski’s firing, Jimmy Haslam bristled over the narrative that the Browns are a dysfunctional organization. However, the coaching search ended up having more people withdraw their names from consideration than finalists during the three-week search.
Grant Udinski withdrew his name from consideration on Monday to remain in Jacksonville as offensive coordinator. The Browns had second interviews scheduled with Mike McDaniel and Jesse Minter before both canceled. McDaniel, who was Miami’s coach for four seasons, will be the Los Angeles Chargers’ offensive coordinator while Minter was named Baltimore’s head coach after two seasons directing the Chargers’ defense.
Monken does have previous history with the Browns, serving as offensive coordinator on Freddie Kitchens’ staff in 2019. He went to the University of Georgia from 2020-22 and was the offensive coordinator when the Bulldogs won the national title in 2021 and 2022.
The Ravens were second in the league this season in rushing yards per game (156.6 yards) and 11th in scoring, averaging 24.9 points per game. Baltimore had the league’s top-ranked offense in 2024, when they became the first team in NFL history to have at least 4,000 passing yards and 3,000 rushing yards in the same season.
Monken’s first priority will be trying to keep Jim Schwartz as defensive coordinator. Schwartz has been the architect of one of the league’s top defenses the past three seasons. Cleveland led the league in total defense in 2023 and ranked fourth this season as Myles Garrett had 23 sacks and broke the NFL single-season record. Schwartz is under contract to Cleveland for one more season, but it remains to be seen what his response will be after being passed over for the head coach position.
The bigger task for Monken will be trying to find a quarterback and a sustainable offense. Stefanski started a league-high 13 different quarterbacks during his tenure, including seven over the past two seasons.
The Browns thought they had their quarterback in 2022 when they released Baker Mayfield and acquired Deshaun Watson from Houston for five draft picks, including three in the first round. Instead, the trade for Watson has set the Browns back. Watson has played in only 19 games. He has gone 9-10 as Cleveland’s starter with 19 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and an 80.7 passer rating. He did not play this season while rehabbing from a torn achilles tendon.
Jimmy Haslam said during the league meetings last March that the Browns “took a big swing and miss” with the Watson trade and that “we’ve got to dig ourselves out of that hole.”
Shedeur Sanders started the final seven games, going 3-4. He faced growing pains, including a makeshift line and missing the leading rusher and receiver for the last two games. Whether Sanders convinced the Browns that he can start next season will be debated in the coming months.
This season’s Browns joined the 1968 Buffalo Bills as the only teams in the Super Bowl era to have rookies lead the team in passing, rushing and receiving yards. Cleveland have the sixth and 24th overall selections in April’s NFL draft.
“Let me just say this, the next 120 days are crucial for the organization,” Haslam said on 5 January. “We’ve got to find the right head coach. We’ve got to be efficient again in free agency. We have 10 draft picks, including two number ones. We have four picks in the top three rounds. And we’ve got to get really good players who are really good people again. We’ve got to be opportunistic if trade opportunities come along. We are solely focused on having a great 120 days so we can start winning games around here.”
