The Cleveland Browns hired an offensive-minded coach just like they indicated they would. And that’s fine. That side of the ball has been a disaster for too long, so let’s get something going and make that side at least presentable.
RELATED: MONKEN PROVIDES FRESH TAKE/PLANS FOR BROWNS
On Tuesday, February 3, newly-hired head coach Todd Monken took the podium to address his hiring and field questions.
For starters, except for the 2019 NFL season as the OC of the Browns under Freddie Kitchens, Monken has turned around every offensive unit he has been in control of. All of them. He has been a head coach before at Southern Miss, where he took a 0-12-0 squad and in two seasons was 9-5-0 and going to a bowl game.
Here are some of the bigger points from Coach Monken’s initial press conference.
Monken mentioned Kirby Smart of Georgia and John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens as huge job opportunities to prove his worth. Then he mentioned his family. His dad, Bob Monken, was an institution in high school coaching in the State of Illinois.
Head coach Jeff Monken of the Army Black Knights Getty Images
All of Monken’s brothers are currently football coaches, and his cousin is the head coach at Army. In all, 14 Monken men have coached football. Monken’s father-in-law was a football coach, which means his wife grew up with a football coach’s life. Monken’s wife was a cheerleader and then coached cheer.
But when it came to mentioning his mom and dad, who have both passed, he stopped and choked up. Several times. He went there and had a problem, as we all do. Somehow, he got it out.
“I want to thank my mom and dad, who are no longer with us. My brothers Tony and Ted, my college roommate, who drove up to be here today. My father-in-law, Chuck, my son Travis, proud of the man you’ve become, and his fiancé, Hannah, and my wife, Terri, have been together 40 years, been married 34. Of course, she would say that’s probably six, because you’re actually married to the game. So, it’s been an unbelievable journey, thank you, I love you.”
Later, inside another question, he re-visited his parents:
“I am who I am because my parents did that for me. They didn’t do that to me; they did that for me.”
From Georgia to Baltimore to Cleveland
Monken left a very successful program at Georgia that had just captured back-to-back National Championships in order to take the OC job with the Baltimore Ravens in order to prove his worth and one day be offered an opportunity to become an NFL head coach. He was asked if that was his goal.
“100%. I called around to coaches in the NFL. I wanted to hear what it was like to be a head coach in the NFL. Because I tried to get a hold of Kliff Kingsbury, I couldn’t. He was in, like, Tahiti or something. So that was that …thank God, I didn’t get him, because I might not have left Georgia. I got ahold of three or four other coaches, Kevin (Stefanski) being one of them, and I asked them, ‘Do you enjoy being a head coach in the NFL? Do you enjoy everything that comes with it?’ It’s not easy. It isn’t.
And to a man, all of them said they loved it. Be it Matt LaFleur, be it Kevin Stefanski, and others that I reached out to, because it was the only reason for me to leave Georgia. Why else would I leave Georgia? We were winning, gonna have good players, the culture’s already set. So that was one part of it.
The other part was the challenge of where we could take the team out east on offense and how we could elevate Lamar Jackson. And as I said, I owe a lot to the players that were there and the coaching staff that we put together to help us do that. But ultimately that was my goal, to come back, to put yourself in a position to one day sit in this chair, be one of the 32.”
Non-committal with Browns QB situation
One of the earliest questions went straight to the quarterback situation with Cleveland. He was asked if Shedeur Sanders would become the starting quarterback in 2026.
“Well, I think like any position on the team, that’s still to be determined. Am I excited about Shedeur? Am I excited about all the quarterbacks in the room? Am I excited to coach this football team? Absolutely. I can’t wait for them to get back and for us to get started.”
Quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders #12 and Deshaun Watson #4 Getty Images
Later, he was asked if his former team, the Ravens, wanted to draft Sanders and if he had any say-so in that selection process.
“I think it’d be unfair for me to comment on another organization’s process. I think that would just be unfair for me to go into depth about where we were in the draft. Obviously, we had an affection, like a lot of teams, for Shedeur’s skill set and what we thought he could become, but I really wouldn’t want to go into depth on another team’s process.”
Then he was asked what he was looking for in a starting quarterback since he is a former signalcaller himself.
“Well, I’m just going to start with personality traits. I mean, when you talk about who’s going to lead this team, who has the ‘it’ factor? Who has those characteristics that the team wants to follow and believes in them because the ball’s in their hand every down? This game is going to come down to two-minute situations, four-minute situations where you’ve got to be able to execute the high level. And we’re just talking about some of the characteristics that you’re looking for, let alone some of the physical traits that we’ll get a chance to talk about later.”
Does he set that culture of accountability?
Monken was asked how he communicates with players who are much younger in a method that doesn’t turn them away from listening.
“Great question. As I said before, I think you have to hold the players accountable for what they say their dreams and aspirations are. You have to find out what you really want, individually with your career, and then what you want collectively as a team. And all you’re doing is holding them to what their goals and aspirations are, as people did for me. I am who I am because my parents did that for me. They didn’t do that to me; they did that for me.
And that’s the way I go about it, because I think everybody likes honesty till they don’t like what’s said to them honestly. And I’m the same way, I’m no different – I like being stroked in a good way. I’m no different. I don’t like the other side of it, but that’s how I’ve gotten a lot better. And the people who love you the most are going to be honest with you. But all it is, is finding out what your dreams and aspirations are, and then let’s fight like hell to achieve them.”
Dodged any Jim Schwartz conversation
The elephant in the room was what was the status of Jim Schwartz. Would he be the DC of the Browns going forward, or has he walked away from the job, and has Monken discussed the job opening with Schwartz?
Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz Diamond Images/Getty Images
“I have. So, I’ve had a chance to talk with Jim.”
And that, was that. No elaboration on the subject. But then the next question expanded on the subject, as everyone was still wanting some information if Schwartz was coming back or not.
“Well, first of all, I think Jim is an outstanding defensive coordinator. I think we all would agree with that. But I think it’s a little inappropriate for me to comment about that at this time.”
And again, that was that. What that means is that it is still in limbo. Apparently, Monken wants him as the DC, and Schwartz is still mad because he was passed over for the head coaching position. At no time did Monken state that Schwartz was a dead issue. So, we will see.
Many will grab hold of his quote below about not game planning for Schwartz as a shot, but, in the moment, Monken seemed to be prioritizing the players on defense as the key, not taking a shot at Schwartz.
Recognizes that coaching the Browns is a huge challenge
If Monken had been named the new head coach of the Ravens, his honey-do list would be pretty short. But with Cleveland, where do you start?
Monken has gone through numerous offensive turnarounds in his coaching career. The Browns is just another in a long list of lists. And he takes it as a challenge because he has the ability to build this roster from the ground up on the offensive side. What does it take, especially in the NFL, to get a turnaround situation going?
“Perseverance, because it’s hard. I mean, winning is hard. I mean, it is hard, but the reward is unbelievable. And that’s what was fun about the thoughts of being the head coach here. I mean, if you like a challenge, let’s go. Let’s get this to where we’re the standard. And the time is now; the timing is now.
It’s hard, it’s perseverance, mental toughness, surrounding yourself with the right people, staffing, and then player-wise, those who want to run into that smoke. Because not everybody wants to run in that smoke. Not everybody wants to look at it like it’s fourth-and-one every day. And it is, it’s fourth-and-one every day.”
He isn’t changing the defense regardless of whether Jim Schwartz returns or not
Monken was asked what defensive changes should be expected if Schwartz doesn’t return.
Jim Schwartz Diamond Images/Getty Images
“First off, my anticipation is we’re not going to change the system. Very difficult to go against – not planning on changing the system. We’re built for the system that they’re in currently. And I’m not going to get into staffing, because that’s not the time to get into that. But they can be rest assured that we’re going to keep the same system. We’re still going to let them attack; we’re still going to let them play free. I can’t see any other way. They’re a big reason why I took this job, the defensive players. I didn’t take this job because of Jim Schwartz. I have a lot of respect for Jim Schwartz, as I would hope he has for me.
But I’d tell you, because of the players that are here, the ownership, Andrew Berry, and the ability to build this roster from the ground up on the offensive side. And I said this to the other guys, I didn’t think I’d say it, but I’m going to say it. When I was preparing for the Cleveland Browns, I wasn’t trying to chip Jim Schwartz; I was chipping Myles Garrett.
And when I was sliding a protection to the outside backers or Grant Delpit, who were blitzing off the edge, I was sliding the protection of the players. And when I was worried about throwing to the right against Denzel Ward or Tyson Campbell to the left, that’s who I was worried about throwing at.”
He will do what he does best: call plays
The question was pretty simple: “Todd, are you going to call the plays?”
Player development is the coach’s job
Monken realizes that coaches get players ready to play the game. It’s their job. But what is his approach to player development?
“Well, I think first off, as coaches, we can never forget that we have a job for our players, ever – that’s why we have a job. And we are in the development business, I know that’s just the start of it, I’m kind of repeating what you said, because no one has a ready-made roster. You only have so many picks; that’s what you have.
So, it starts with the top that believes in that, then the head coach, then down to the assistant coaches, that we’re going to coach everybody – at some point they’re all going to play for us, at some point that’s going to come up. And the best way to build our confidence is to spend time with them, that’s the best thing. And to develop every aspect of their game – that’s in the classroom and on the field. And everybody has a hand in this. Everybody from sports science to our coaching staff to what we’ve seen at the beginning, in terms of their skill set and how that fits with what we want to do.”
Receivers and offensive line
The question was: How would you assess the current receivers and offensive line? And true to form, no definitive answer was given. Which means Monken has spent most of his time looking for the right staff members, and then will assess what he has at all positions, especially the offensive side of the ball.
Getty Images
“Well, it’s kind of a work in progress. It’s kind of hard right now because right now we’re spending the majority of our time on building an elite staff. I mean, that’s really what we’re doing right now. There’ll be time for me to really get a chance to assess the receiver room. Most of it’s been from afar, and same with the offensive line, and how we’re going to construct the roster moving forward, especially offensively.”
What were your biggest takeaways from Todd Monken’s press conference?
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