Recently retired Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David was one of the great NFL linebackers of his era, but that didn’t matter to new Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken.
In the little that Cleveland fans have gotten to know about their new head coach, Todd Monken, they know that he does not take any smack talk. The Buccaneer legend can attest to exactly that.
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David was on The Arena: Gridiron show on Friday and told of a very vivid memory that he has of the Browns’ head coach. As the story goes, when Monken was the offensive coordinator in Tampa Bay, the Bucs offense and defense were caught in a training camp practice day that was a back-and-forth battle. It is not foreign for days like this to turn tense between players on opposing sides, and frankly, the coaches on opposing sides.
In the heat of battle, both sides can get pretty vocal, and that was the case here. As the story goes, David found himself on the offensive side of the ball in the backfield near the coaches and players. He probably shouldn’t have been on that side, and he was running his mouth a little bit, the way you would expect.
Except this day, Monken wouldn’t have any of it. Monken responded with some choice words for David, which you can listen to below.
If what he said is true, he probably regretted the words he used nearly immediately, but once the words are out, the confrontation is on. The two found themselves nearly nose to nose before they were separated by teammates.
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Cohost on the show, Aqib Talib, chimed in about the alleged altercation and actually considered that he would have gained a little respect for Monken as he stood up for his side of the ball. Certainly, there are right ways and wrong ways to accomplish this, and it’s probably true that he approached this in the wrong way.
However, it tells a lot about his character as a coach. Monken is not going to take any trash from anyone. He is a coach who stands up for his players and will do anything to stick up for them.
It is this type of backbone and character that the Browns are going to benefit from their head coach. For too long, Cleveland has been the laughing stock of the NFL, and they have gotten into ruts and just accepted it. That will not be the case with Monken at the helm.
Listen to him when he talks, ask his former coaches or ask his former players, Monken is as tough as they come and he will carry that personality with him as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns.
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This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Browns HC Todd Monken once almost started fight with Buccaneers legend