{"id":728398,"date":"2026-02-04T08:54:26","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T08:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/728398\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T08:54:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T08:54:26","slug":"todd-monken-on-becoming-head-coach-for-the-browns-shedeur-sanders-jim-schwartz-and-more-transcript","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/728398\/","title":{"rendered":"Todd Monken on becoming head coach for the Browns, Shedeur Sanders, Jim Schwartz, and more: Transcript"},"content":{"rendered":"

CLEVELAND, Ohio \u2014 Browns<\/a> head coach Todd Monken took questions from reporters on Tuesday with regard to officially becoming the head coach, Shedeur Sanders, Jim Schwartz<\/a>, and more.<\/p>\n

Below is the transcript as provided by the Browns media relations department:<\/p>\n

Andrew Berry Opening Statement:<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, good afternoon, everyone. Really exciting day. I am thrilled to announce Todd Monken as our new head coach. And before inviting Todd up to speak, I actually wanted to give a little bit of context and background of what led us to this decision. You know, coming out of 2025, the first thing we wanted to do is say, \u2018okay, like, where are we from a team standpoint? Where are we from a roster standpoint?\u2019 And we looked at it and we said, \u2018hey, we\u2019re coming out of 2025, we have the eighth youngest defense, in terms of experience. A group that\u2019s very complete at all three levels and that we feel really good about. On the offensive side of the ball, we looked and we felt like we had a number of young, pillar, cornerstone pieces, but we envision a world where that side of the ball is going to have pretty significant turnover over the next several months. And then from a resource standpoint, we looked at the team and said we\u2019re flush with draft resources entering this off-season, as well as the appropriate amount of flexibility from a financial perspective. So, as we looked at everything and we thought about what we needed from our head coach, particularly in this phase, the first thing we actually looked at is, we wanted someone who could lead, develop and grow a young team. Because quite frankly, we\u2019re probably going to be, if not the youngest, one of the youngest teams in football in 2026. The second thing that we wanted, certainly in the short term, was a coach, didn\u2019t matter the background, that had a very strong and adaptable offensive plan, given the amount of turnover we\u2019re going to have on that side of the ball, both in terms of personnel, scheme, you name it. In addition to that very specific problem, we were looking at individuals that had four key attributes. The first is something that we categorize as global intelligence \u2013 so that\u2019s not just cognitive ability or IQ, that\u2019s EQ and football acumen as well. The second is something that we term CEO leadership \u2013 so that\u2019s someone who has the ability to function at what we would call 30,000 feet, as well as the tactical level at ground level. The third, we wanted someone who had a demonstrated track record of innovation where they\u2019ve been. And then the fourth, we wanted someone who had the characteristics of collaboration, given the head coaching position touches so many different areas in football operations in the modern-day game. So, what we did to assess all those characteristics with many of the fine coaches we met with, we looked at their performance track record, where they\u2019ve been throughout all their career, how their units have done. We did a number of reference calls to people who had been in direct working relationship with the candidates throughout all stops of their career. We did testing, we did work samples, and we also did the interview. And we combined all that information to make a good decision about who would serve us best, who would serve the organization best with the problem that we\u2019re trying to attack with where our team is currently. And when we did that, Todd stood head and shoulders above the rest. You know, Todd\u2019s like, really, really unique. If you look at his history, his career history, this is a coach who has had high level, innovative, adaptable offenses at both the pro and college level. Doesn\u2019t matter the personnel, didn\u2019t matter the quarterbacks, didn\u2019t matter what he inherited, he always found a way to have high level and productive units. It became very apparent in everybody that we talked to about Todd how strong he was working and developing with young players. I think that\u2019s one of the beauties of Todd\u2019s experience is he does have pro and college experience as a coach, and that transfers in terms of how he leads and grows young players. The third, the mentors that he\u2019s worked for, most recently, Kirby Smart and John Harbaugh, arguably the best in the business in pro and college. And the lessons that Todd has learned and applied from those coaches has been outstanding. And then the last thing is he understands the job. I mean, the work that he did at Southern Miss, inheriting a program at its historical nadir, turning it around with few resources shows he has the leadership, the gumption, and the resourcefulness to do this job at any level. So for us, we felt like he fit us like a glove, and we are so excited to have him and his family in Cleveland \u2013 I guess I should say back to Cleveland, Todd. But we\u2019re really stoked to have him. And so, without further ado, Todd Monken.\u201d<\/p>\n

Todd Monken Opening Statement:<\/p>\n

\u201cWow. Man, am I excited to lead this flagship NFL franchise. I mean, it\u2019s been a long time coming, really has been a long journey, and there\u2019s a lot of people as we get down the road here that I\u2019m gonna have to thank, but I\u2019m jacked. I mean, I\u2019m excited to be with the Cleveland Browns. I mean, really, it\u2019s hard to even put into words. First off, I want to thank Dee and Jimmy (Haslam), Whitney and JW (Johnson) for entrusting me in this opportunity to help build a winning team with the NFL\u2019s most passionate and dedicated fan base, including the Dawg Pound. Secondly, I want to thank Andrew Berry. Crazy enough, in 2019, when I interviewed here, my contact was Andrew, and actually was the first gentleman I met with when I came in the building. And I could tell right away that our alignment, and his clear vision for how you build the roster and how you develop players, we were aligned. And I look forward to being connected at the hip and building this roster to a consistent championship level. He mentioned the last few years getting an opportunity to work with Kirby Smart and John Harbaugh, two of the elites in the game. When you talk about getting a doctorate in coaching, wow \u2013 I owe a lot to them. They entrusted me to elevate the offenses at both places, which is a credit to the staff we had and the players we had, because you can\u2019t do it alone, you absolutely cannot do this alone. It takes an army, and I owe a lot of gratitude to them. The one thing I learned being with both of them, I always thought I understood what it meant to confront anything that gets in the way of winning football. And what\u2019s interesting is they get to the same point; they just do it completely differently. But it\u2019s an art, because ultimately, just like I would have with my son, just like our children, you\u2019re going to confront anything that gets in the way of helping them become the best version of them. And that\u2019s your job with something that you love. That\u2019s something I\u2019ve never taken for granted with any job I\u2019ve ever had, is fighting to confront anything that gets in the way of winning football. And I owe a lot to Coach Harbaugh. He hired me out of Georgia, took a shot on a college coordinator trying to elevate Lamar (Jackson) and the offense, and I learned a ton. He is elite at messaging with a team, especially with an NFL team, and how you deal with players and how you confront anything that gets in the way of winning without being confrontational. To me, that\u2019s an art. Thank you, coach. And then the last thing \u2013 sh*t. I told myself I wasn\u2019t gonna cry for God sakes. I want to thank my mom and dad, no longer with us. My brothers Tony and Ted, college roommates, drove up here to be here today. My father in law, Chuck, my son Travis, proud of the man you\u2019ve become, and his fianc\u00e9, Hannah, and my wife Terri, been together 40 years, been married 34. Of course, she would say that\u2019s probably six, because you\u2019re actually married to the game. So, it\u2019s been an unbelievable journey, thank you, I love you. Before I take any questions, there\u2019s something that I\u2019ve kind of always lived by as a position coach, as a coordinator, and I will as a head coach. Dee and Jimmy, they cut a check with my name on it. You know what they expect? A fricking kick a** football team. That\u2019s what they expect. You know what they want? They want to become a winning franchise that our fan base in our region is proud of. That\u2019s all they\u2019ve been about, is how you build a winning franchise that consistently competes for championships. You know what? My job is to prove it every single day, and I appreciate that. Thank you. And with that, let\u2019s go with some questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hi Todd. Welcome back. Mary Kay Cabot, cleveland.com, Cleveland Plain Dealer. Well, I guess I\u2019ll start right off the bat with the question probably everybody wants to know. Will you head into this offseason with Shedeur Sanders as your QB1? And if not, what is your approach to the whole quarterback situation as you move into your new job?<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I think like any position on the team, that\u2019s 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\u2019t wait for them to get back and for us to get started.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe Reedy, Associated Press. Todd, you mentioned in a Harbaugh Coaching Academy video your 2019 stint here that there was a lot of drama that the coaching staff couldn\u2019t control. Now that you\u2019re the head coach and learning from Kirby and Harbaugh, how do you manage that so that there isn\u2019t that drama?<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, first off, I learned a lot in that 2019 season. I think you learn a lot, in fact, you learn a heck of a lot more when things aren\u2019t going well than when it is going well. And I learned a lot of things that I would have done different and I think collectively would have done different, and I\u2019ve seen it from a different angle, different point of view. But I\u2019m ready to move forward with this team, the 2026 team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chris Easterling, Akron Beacon Journal. As a former quarterback, what is it you\u2019re specifically looking for in a quarterback? What is that trait? What are the traits that you feel like are critical for a successful quarterback, regardless of level?<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019m just going to start with personality traits. I mean, when you talk about who\u2019s going to lead this team, who has the \u2018it\u2019 factor? who has those characteristics that the team wants to follow and believes in them because the ball\u2019s in their hand every down? This game is going to come down to two-minute situations, four-minute situations where you\u2019ve got to be able to execute the high level. And we\u2019re just talking about some of the characteristics that you\u2019re looking for, let alone some of the physical traits that we\u2019ll get a chance to talk about later.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hey, Todd. Scott Petrak from the Chronicle-Telegram. You said it was a long time coming. When did you first start to think about being an NFL head coach and did you feel you\u2019d come close before? What does it feel like finally now?<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, first off, I played at Knox College and my dad was a high school coach and my uncles were high school coaches, so that was just a dream. But I\u2019ve been part of a team since I\u2019ve been five years old \u2013 the Purple Pounders of Wheaton, Illinois. And it\u2019s the coolest thing ever to be of the part of a team, let\u2019s just put it that way, okay? All I ever wanted to do is be part of a team and coach football. I mean, other than my mom making an Evel Knievel outfit or an astronaut, I was a football player every Halloween. That\u2019s all I ever dressed up as, you name it, that\u2019s what I dressed up as when I was a kid. Everybody else was getting trains, they were getting army men, I was getting football games. My dad, every single little vibrating football game or talking football or rubber band football \u2013 every single game I ever got was about football. So, all I ever wanted to do is coach and be part of a team. To me, it\u2019s not until you get into the NFL that you ever process, like, the opportunity could potentially be there, to be a head coach in the NFL. Obviously, you have to probably reach the coordinator level to where that becomes a possibility. And there have been times before where I\u2019ve been close, and I believe God puts you at the right place at the right time, and that is now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dan Labbe, cleveland.com. Obviously, you\u2019ve been saying it\u2019s a long time coming. Did you at any point think something like this wouldn\u2019t happen for you, and does that make this opportunity more meaningful for you?<\/p>\n

\u201cFor sure. I mean, I\u2019m not getting any younger, let\u2019s be real honest here. Although I\u2019ll say this, that the version you getting of me now is a hell of a lot better than it would have been 15, 20 years ago. So, I\u2019ll at least say that, okay? But you get to the point where this is God\u2019s plan, which is fine, to be an offensive coordinator in the NFL or even coach in the NFL. I don\u2019t think people really realize there\u2019s 32 NFL teams, there\u2019s approximately 68, I don\u2019t even know how many more there are, power four jobs. So whatever job we have, be it in the NFL or a power four school, there\u2019s only 100 of you in the whole world \u2013 that\u2019s all there is. Within a 30-mile radius there might be 100 doctors, 100 attorneys. You talk about a small group, talking about an elite group of men. So sure, there\u2019s a time when you think that\u2019s not going to happen, but very appreciative for the jobs that I\u2019ve had and the players that I\u2019ve been around and the coaches that have helped me get to where I\u2019m at, because you absolutely cannot do it alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jimmy Watkins, cleveland.com. Todd, you\u2019re known as a straight shooter, that\u2019s what they say about you. How do you set that culture of accountability in a way that doesn\u2019t turn players off, so to speak?<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat question. Like 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 really do you want, individually with your career, and then what do you want collectively as a team. And all you\u2019re doing is holding them to what their goals and aspirations are, like people did for me. I am who I am because my parents did that for me. They didn\u2019t do that to me, they did that for me. And that\u2019s the way I go about it, because I think everybody likes honesty till they don\u2019t like what\u2019s said to them honestly. And I\u2019m the same way, I\u2019m no different \u2013 I like being stroked in a good way. I\u2019m no different. I don\u2019t like the other side of it, but that\u2019s how I\u2019ve gotten a lot better. And the people that love you the most, they\u2019re going to be honest with you. But all it is, is finding out what are your dreams and aspirations, and then let\u2019s fight like hell to achieve them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hi Todd, Ashley Bastock, cleveland.com Just wondering being in the division, like what your impression as a coordinator was of this defense and if you\u2019ve had a chance to talk to Jim (Schwartz)?<\/p>\n

\u201cGive me that again, the last part.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve had a chance to talk to Jim Schwartz?<\/p>\n

\u201cI have. So, I\u2019ve had a chance to talk with Jim. But it\u2019s been a b*tch, I apologize, to go against his defense six times over the last three years. Schematically, and more importantly the players. Because ultimately, it\u2019s a player\u2019s game \u2013 that\u2019s what it is. It\u2019s our job as coaches to develop systems that allow your players to play fast. People talk about time speed. It\u2019s really not about time speed, it\u2019s about how they play on the field. And that\u2019s developing schemes, in my opinion, or systems \u2013 as Coach Harbaugh used to call it, with elegant simplicity, where they can function at a high level and play fast. And that\u2019s what you saw all the time with the guys that are here and the players that we have. But at the end of the day, I say this all the time, from an offensive or defensive perspective, it starts with having elite players and then having an elite coaching staff with you. And then you can call the game freely because of that, because of the talent you have, and then because of the coaches that help it come to life. You know, that\u2019s what makes a coordinator elite \u2013 it\u2019s not one individual person. And when we used to get ready for the Browns\u2026it\u2019ll be more fun to not have to worry about chipping 95 (Myles Garrett) every down and distance, I can tell you that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Terry Pluto, Plain Dealer and cleveland.com. Two things you mentioned about the defense there. I\u2019m just curious, where do you stand with Schwartz? Is he coming back or what do you know so far?<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, first of all, I think Jim is an outstanding defensive coordinator, I think we all would agree with that. But I think it\u2019s a little inappropriate for me to comment about that at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

And then secondly, when you looked at the Browns from the outside, you mentioned the defense. But in general, you\u2019ve been through some situations where it\u2019s been big turnarounds. I know at Southern Miss, I think you\u2019re like 0-12 the first year. What does it take, especially in the NFL, to get a turnaround situation going?<\/p>\n

\u201cPerseverance, because it\u2019s hard. I mean, winning\u2019s hard. I mean, it is hard, but the reward is unbelievable. And that\u2019s what was fun about the thoughts of being the head coach here. I mean, if you like a challenge, let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s get this to where we\u2019re the standard. And the time is now; the timing is now. It\u2019s hard, it\u2019s perseverance, mental toughness, surrounding yourself with the right people, staffing, and then player-wise, that want to run into that smoke. Because not everybody wants to run in that smoke. Not everybody wants to look at it like it\u2019s fourth-and-one every day. And it is, it\u2019s fourth-and-one every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hey Todd. Nate Ulrich, Akron Beacon Journal. Clearly this means so much to you. So, when you were at Georgia, you win the national championship back-to-back, you come back in the NFL. Did you come back to the league with the goal to become a head coach? Was that in your thinking?<\/p>\n

\u201c100%. 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\u2019t. He was in, like, Tahiti or something. So that was that \u2026thank God I didn\u2019t 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, \u2018do you enjoy being a head coach in the NFL? Do you enjoy everything that comes with it?\u2019 It\u2019s not easy. It isn\u2019t. 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\u2019s 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 like 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, was to come back, to put yourself in a position to one day sit in this chair, be one of the 32.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yeah Todd, on the day that Jim Schwartz supposedly left the building and said he wasn\u2019t coming back, Myles Garrett had a reaction to that on Instagram where he showed someone hanging their head. Denzel Ward has said, \u2018I really want Jim Schwartz back here\u2019. So my question to you is, I know you can\u2019t go into detail about your convo with Jim, but what can you say to these players, or how confident are you that these players are going to like the direction that you\u2019re going to be able to go on defense, and will you be able to maintain the incredibly high standards of the defense even if Jim doesn\u2019t come back?<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst off, my anticipation is we\u2019re not going to change the system. Very difficult to go against \u2013 not planning on changing the system. We\u2019re built for the system that they\u2019re in currently. And I\u2019m not going to get into staffing, because that\u2019s not at this time to get into that. But they can be rest assured that we\u2019re going to keep the same system. We\u2019re still going to let them attack; we\u2019re still going to let them play free. I can\u2019t see any other way. They\u2019re a big reason why I took this job, the defensive players. I didn\u2019t 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\u2019d 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\u2019t think I\u2019d say it, but I\u2019m going to say it. When I was preparing for the Cleveland Browns, I wasn\u2019t trying to chip Jim Schwartz, I was chipping Myles Garrett. And when I was sliding a protection to the outside backers or Grant Delpit that 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\u2019s who I was worried about throwing at.\u201d<\/p>\n

Todd, Tony Grossi, ESPN Cleveland. Welcome back, we\u2019re still here. It\u2019s common knowledge now Baltimore wanted to draft Shedeur. How much did you contribute to that decision at the time with Baltimore? Did you do any personal scouting of him? And what were your thoughts back then?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019d be unfair for me to comment on another organization\u2019s process. I think that would just be unfair for me to go in depth of where we were at in the draft. Obviously, we had an affection, like a lot of teams of Shedeur\u2019s skill set and what we thought he could become, but I really wouldn\u2019t want to go in depth of another team\u2019s process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hey Todd, Daniel Oyefusi, ESPN. A lot has been made about the flexibility of your scheme and bending it to the talents of your players. But from a macro view, when people envision a Cleveland Browns offense under Todd Monken, what do you want them to see?<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, that\u2019s a question I get asked all the time, like what system do you run? What is that? And the way I\u2019ll try to phrase it is to score any way possible. I don\u2019t care what it takes to score, it\u2019s about scoring points. I would hate to put some sort of\u2026any type of connotation as to what system that we are, other than playing to our players\u2019 strengths. I think one of the things that our staff, including myself, have been able to do is take advantage of what a player can do and not what they can\u2019t do. Every player in the NFL is elite, and they all have a trait, at least one trait that allows them to, I don\u2019t want to say this \u2013 allows them to function, play at a high level. You just got to find what that is and not try to put a square peg in a round hole, taking advantage of what they do. And I think that\u2019s what we\u2019ve been able to do consistently.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hey Todd, Justin Cooper, ESPN Cleveland. After being here in 2019 and the well documented struggles over the last two years of this organization, what makes you confident that you\u2019re the guy that could lead this team and turn this franchise around?<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it\u2019s interesting that you asked that, because in the interview, there was a question that came up about strength as a head coach, and the other was where your gaps as a coach \u2013 where you need help, where you can use people to fill in those gaps. And the other was how would you envision yourself being unsuccessful? That\u2019s not even in my vocabulary. It just isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Todd, I got two quick ones for you. Are you going to call the plays?<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

And then you mentioned 95 a couple of times. How well did you know Myles in the year you were here and how have you seen him evolve as a player since then?<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, when I was here for that short period, I would say that I didn\u2019t know Myles very well, other than I loved his personality, I loved his charisma. I mean, always a smile on his face. At that time I thought, \u2018holy cow, this guy runs like a wideout, this guy looks like a skill player.\u2019 I mean, this guy is elite, and he\u2019s always had it in him. But you can just see the last few years that his evolution, in terms of blocking schemes, how teams try to prevent him from getting to the quarterback, which opens up opportunities for others. I think his awareness of what teams are trying to do\u2026I think they\u2019ve done a great job of moving him around because that\u2019s important. That definitely gets into a coordinator\u2019s head in game planning of where he\u2019s located. You can see with every team that plays against Myles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spencer German, Browns Roundtable and Locked On Browns. I saw there was a clip that you did, or you had of talking about coaching Lamar and how you even felt like there were some things that you could have done better working with him. So, what did you learn from coaching Lamar for the three years you were there, and what were some of the biggest challenges and things that you bring with you now to this job?<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, first off, I think I didn\u2019t get to where I\u2019m at, as a human being or a coach, without owning and then fighting like hell to fixing. And I think that\u2019s important in a relationship, I think that\u2019s important in life. There\u2019s a certain amount of, bar graph here, follow me, that 10%, 15%, b*tching, complaining, self-preservation mode that we can all get in when things go bad or things are tough \u2013 which, that\u2019s life, that\u2019s relationships, that\u2019s coaching. But the other 85 to 90% is owning your mistakes because we\u2019re human, and then fighting like hell to fix them, and that\u2019s what I\u2019ve been about. The moment that graph elevates and the other one shrinks, you\u2019re not in the place you want to be at. First of all, Lamar and my relationship was awesome, we get along great. We didn\u2019t have the success last year, for a number of reasons, and it doesn\u2019t matter. Fact. You know, he was banged up \u2013 I would have loved to have seen that he\u2019d been healthy the whole year, but he was not. Doesn\u2019t matter. We, at times, didn\u2019t give ourselves the best chance to be successful. And you got to own that. That\u2019s part of what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Todd, John Sabol, Fox 8 here in Cleveland. I covered you for a few years there in Tampa when you were with the Buccaneers. You mentioned how you\u2019ve grown since your stay here in 2019. How have you changed as a coach in your offensive philosophy since one of your first spots there in the NFL in Tampa, when you had to develop Jameis Winston and a team that was young and trying to take that next step?<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say what\u2019s changed dramatically, and I\u2019m going to talk a little bit philosophically more than I will about the team itself, what\u2019s really changed the last few years is situational football. The analytics that have changed. Conversion downs, the way you approach down and distance in the game, when you\u2019re going to take shots, when you know it\u2019s four down territory. More and more teams are going for it on fourth down \u2013 it\u2019s conversion downs, not just third downs. I get a big kick out of defensive personnel when it\u2019s fourth-and-two, and they stop them and they put their fist up like it\u2019s fourth down \u2013 no, we\u2019re not punting. Like teams don\u2019t punt anymore. Like, you didn\u2019t really get them stopped yet. And I\u2019m not making fun of that \u2013 that\u2019s just how the game has changed, in terms of your situational awareness of where you\u2019re putting yourself in position to keep the football and maximize your opportunities to score points. That\u2019s what\u2019s changed the most in the game, is the analytical part of what drives winning, and that\u2019s just not down and distance driven, that\u2019s tactical driven, across the board \u2013 concepts, players, matchups, all of that. That\u2019s changed dramatically over the years. And that\u2019s one thing that getting back in the NFL \u2013 understanding that the critical plays in a game that changed the game. When we ran that Mark Andrews\u2019 fake sneak around the end here this year, that was something we\u2019d oiled up for three weeks. That was a play off a play. That was Coach Harbaugh\u2019s idea. I don\u2019t care whose idea it is, where it comes from, if it helps us win, that\u2019s what\u2019s most important. But it wasn\u2019t just a fly by your seat of the pants, let\u2019s just see if it works this way \u2013 no. It came up in that situation at a critical time. And that\u2019s the difference when you\u2019re looking for margins that help you win close games, which is what the NFL is all about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Todd, Camryn Justice, News 5 Cleveland. You talked about it a little bit, your approach in player development. But as that\u2019s an attribute that\u2019s been something that has been top of mind for this hire and for you, what makes your approach to player development so unique and different? Not just in the young players and rookies that are going to be coming in, but the guys on the fringe, guys that are in that practice squad role looking to move up, and how do you approach that with depth as well?<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I think first off as coaches, we can never forget that we have a job for our players, ever \u2013 that\u2019s why we have a job. And we are in the development business, I know that\u2019s just the start of it, I\u2019m kind of repeating what you said, because no one has a ready-made roster. You only have so many picks, that\u2019s 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\u2019re going to coach everybody \u2013 at some point they\u2019re all going to play for us, at some point that\u2019s going to come up. And the best way to build our confidence is to spend time with them, that\u2019s the best biggest thing. And to develop every aspect of their game \u2013 that\u2019s 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\u2019ve seen at the beginning, in terms of their skill set and how that fits with what we want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff Schudel, News Herald. Todd, you were asked about the quarterbacks at the very beginning. How would you assess the current receivers and offensive line?<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it\u2019s kind of a work in progress. It\u2019s kind of hard right now because right now we\u2019re spending the majority of our time on building an elite staff. I mean that\u2019s really what we\u2019re doing right now. There\u2019ll be time for me to really get a chance to assess the receiver room. Most of it\u2019s been from afar, and same with the offensive line, and how we\u2019re going to construct the roster moving forward, especially offensively.\u201d<\/p>\n

Todd, two to close it out. What\u2019s your timeline as far as hoping to complete a coaching staff?<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t control that. I mean we\u2019re going to vet as many candidates as we can to get it right. When I was the head coach at Southern Miss, we lost a coach and Pete Golding, who\u2019s now the head coach at Ole Miss, he was our eighth safety interview, our eighth. Our D-coordinator was absolutely livid of why it took so long. We didn\u2019t get the right hire; we hadn\u2019t found it yet. I think, just like they all vetted for the head coach coaching position, don\u2019t get worn out \u2013 make sure you get the right people at the start, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to do. So, there is no timeline to get it right.\u201d<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve been in the division a long time. What do you think it\u2019s going to be like competing against Baltimore and Pittsburgh and Cincinnati this year? Baltimore and Pittsburgh, obviously with new staffs. You were involved with plenty of shootouts with Cincinnati when you were with the Ravens.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t wait. I can\u2019t wait.\u201d<\/p>\n

Football Insider newsletter free trial: Take a minute and sign up for a free trial<\/a> of our Football Insider newsletter, featuring exclusive content from cleveland.com’s Browns reporters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLEVELAND, Ohio \u2014 Browns head coach Todd Monken took questions from reporters on Tuesday with regard to officially…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":728399,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2054],"tags":[86,85,54,103764,94864,2337,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-728398","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cleveland-browns","8":"tag-browns","9":"tag-cleveland","10":"tag-cleveland-browns","11":"tag-cleveland-browns-head-coach-todd-monken","12":"tag-cleveland-browns-2025-2026","13":"tag-clevelandbrowns","14":"tag-football","15":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116011523532853428","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=728398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728398\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/728399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=728398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=728398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=728398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}