So much for a Todd Monken/John Harbaugh reunion in East Rutherford.
The Browns are hiring Monken to be their next head coach, so he won’t be Harbaugh’s first Giants offensive coordinator.
Monken had run Harbaugh’s offense in Baltimore from 2023-25.
Harbaugh has a special teams background, so his Giants offensive and defensive coordinator hires were always going to be important.
Harbaugh landed Dennard Wilson (the Titans’ defensive coordinator the past two seasons) to run things on that side of the ball.
But what about the offensive side, as the Giants try to develop quarterback Jaxson Dart in Year 2 and beyond?
Well, it was widely assumed that Monken would reunite with Harbaugh in East Rutherford — if, that is, the Browns didn’t hire Monken.
And now they have hired him. So Harbaugh must turn to his fallback options — which include former Giants quarterback Davis Webb, who has never been an offensive coordinator at any level.
Webb is currently the Broncos’ quarterbacks coach. But Sean Payton (who calls plays in Denver) just canned offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi. So Webb could remain in Denver and get a promotion.
Or he could decide to work elsewhere and get a guaranteed shot at calling plays. To that end, the Giants, Ravens and Eagles (all play-calling opportunities for Webb) have requested to interview him for their offensive coordinator vacancies.
Still, Monken heading to Cleveland instead of joining Harbaugh with the Giants is a clear blow to the new big whistle in East Rutherford, since he quite obviously wanted to continue working with Monken.