01/28/26 11:11:00
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01/28 11:09 CST Todd Monken will be the next Cleveland Browns head coach, AP
source says
Todd Monken will be the next Cleveland Browns head coach, AP source says
By JOE REEDY
AP Sports Writer
CLEVELAND (AP) --- The Cleveland Browns are naming Todd Monken as their head
coach, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on
Wednesday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not announced
Monken's hiring.
Monken, who turns 60 on Feb. 5, had been Baltimore's offensive coordinator for
the past three seasons. He first interviewed on Jan. 10 and had a second
interview on Jan. 20. 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.
Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and Los Angeles Rams pass game
coordinator Nate Scheelhaase were also finalists.
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.
The Browns were 5-12 this season and 8-26 the past two years.
Cleveland interviewed 10 people for the opening after Kevin Stefanski was fired
on Jan. 5.
Stefanski --- who was hired as Atlanta's coach --- had a 46-58 record. He was a
two-time AP NFL Coach of the Year and led the Browns to the playoffs in 2020
and '23.
Stefanski was also the first Cleveland coach to last at least six seasons since
Sam Rutigliano (1978 through the midway point of the 1984 season).
Cleveland also talked to former offensive coordinator Tommy Rees (who has
joined Stefanski in Atlanta), Mike McDaniel, Aden Durde, Dan Pitcher, Jesse
Minter, Grant Udinski and Anthony Lynn.
Monken, Schwartz, Udinski and Scheelhaase received second interviews.
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.
Udinski withdrew his name from consideration on Monday to remain in
Jacksonville as offensive coordinator.
The Browns had second interviews scheduled with McDaniel and 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 '22.
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
was the league's top-ranked offense in 2024, when it 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 also has worked in Jacksonville (2007-10) and Tampa Bay (2016-17). He
was the head coach at Southern Mississippi from 2011-13 and had a 13-26 record.
Monken's first priority will be trying to keep 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. Watson practiced for
three weeks last month, but was not activated to the roster.
Watson played seven games in 2023 before a season-ending shoulder injury in
Week 10. The Browns brought in Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter and
averaged more than 300 passing yards per game, helping Cleveland reach the
playoffs for only the third time since 1999.
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 has 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 Jan. 5. "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."
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