MOBILE, Ala. — When the New York Giants hired John Harbaugh this month, Harbaugh hoped he could bring along his most recent Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator.
A high-ranking AFC executive speculated then on Todd Monken’s fit with quarterback Jaxson Dart.
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“I think Todd is naturally a pass-oriented play-caller but will do pretty well with Jaxson,” the executive told Yahoo Sports. “He’s adapted to different guys and been explosive.”
Questions lingered, the executive admitted, about players’ personality fit with Monken’s tough, exacting standards as well as the prerequisite of a “functional” offensive line.
But if those two concerns could be assuaged, the executive predicted: “[Monken] will get him to produce.”
Wednesday, the Cleveland Browns wrecked Harbaugh’s staffing vision by hiring Monken as their head coach.
The former Southern Mississippi head coach, who has coached in the NFL for 11 years and college football for 26 more, succeeds Kevin Stefanski at the Browns helm.
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Dart won’t be Monken’s quarterback. It’s not clear, as of Wednesday, whom the Browns will decide can answer that gaping question.
But the executive’s perspective helped explain the upside the Browns might see in Monken. Coaches and executives at the Senior Bowl echoed similar sentiments.
There are coaches and coordinators across the league, from Kliff Kingsbury with his spread offense to the dozen-plus running the Shanahan-McVay system, who stick to fairly consistent principles in scheming their offensive weapons. That’s not to say they’re rigid: Most coaches, and all good coaches, adapt their scheme to their personnel and pull from sweeping playbooks the concepts that will best feature their current group of players. Some even respond to and try to get ahead of evolving defensive opponents. But many have a track record of a similar vision from which they work.
One of Monken’s most attractive qualities, on the other hand, is the versatility he has already demonstrated as a coach. Monken has learned from the college game, including a stint at Georgia under Kirby Smart that ended in 2022, and he has coordinated the offense of three NFL teams: the Ravens from 2023-25, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2016-18 and even his again-employer Browns in 2019.
Todd Monken is returning to the Cleveland Browns as head coach after previously serving as offensive coordinator in 2019.
(Diamond Images via Getty Images)
His offenses have not looked identical across those periods.
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In Baltimore, with a former MVP in Lamar Jackson and a former rushing champion in Derrick Henry, Monken schemed the Ravens to the No. 1 overall offense and No. 3 scoring offense. Jackson won a second MVP award under Monken coordinating while Henry rushed for a league-high 16 touchdowns.
An NFC executive and AFC defensive coach whose teams played Monken’s during his three years in Baltimore each quipped: Monken doesn’t get to take Jackson and Henry to his next stop. That’s where his adaptability could come into play.
“I would describe [his philosophy] as a balanced offense,” the AFC defensive assistant told Yahoo Sports. “He does a great job of marrying up the run with the play action.”
The Browns had three finalists for their opening in Monken, Cleveland defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase. Schwartz’s disappointment in not receiving the job, and Monken’s vision, could lead to a split between Schwartz and the Browns after he coordinated two top-five defenses in the last three seasons.
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In some ways, the decision to bring in a 59-year-old tough, former college head coach instead of promoting the 59-year-old tough, former NFL head coach already in the building should turn heads: Was alienating Schwartz worth it after he kept his defense thriving amid offensive dysfunction last year? Is rolling the dice on a new coordinator ideal when multiple league sources believe the Cleveland defensive personnel is suited ideally for Schwartz’s attack principles but not necessarily ideal for every coordinator?
The Browns will likely try to keep Schwartz, who remains under contract, in the building. But Browns team owner Jimmy Haslam touted Monken for an “innovative offensive mindset [that] has been at the forefront of constructing productive and successful offenses at the NFL and collegiate level over the last 20 years.”
General manager Andrew Berry offered still more insight.
“Todd has a varied and diverse background that we found as a particularly appealing match for our team at this stage in its life cycle,” Berry said. “His successful offensive track record at both the pro and college level with a variety of offensive systems and QB skill sets will allow maximum flexibility as we make several, long-term investments on that side of the ball.”
The statement was markedly different from counterparts’ recent words. While teams like the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers seem intent on finding a ready-made coach to maximize already successful but not-quite-over-the-hump teams, the Browns need a leader who can elevate their cellar-dwelling elements (hi, offense) because they’ve run into challenges trying to win only on the basis of their best parts (hi, defense).
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Berry’s note of the Browns’ “life cycle” reflects the rebuild the team is undergoing, even if they avoid the word that so many fan bases and team leaders dread.
Until the Browns find a long-term answer at quarterback, and likely offensive line, their ceiling will remain limited. End-of-2025 starter Shedeur Sanders will likely compete for that role; and the Browns could use their rights to the sixth and 24th overall picks to draft a quarterback at one of those spots or package to trade up if they believe in a guy.
But the overwhelming sentiment at the Senior Bowl reflected the speculation of prior weeks: The 2026 quarterback class is weak and shallow. The 2027 class, meanwhile, is projected to be deep.
While talent evaluators agree that Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza will leave the board first (the only nuance, coming from a minority, is whether the Las Vegas Raiders would trade the pick away to a team that would nonetheless select Mendoza), they otherwise believe there are few, if any, locks at starting quarterback.
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Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, projected to the Browns at the 24th overall pick in Yahoo Sports’ most recent mock draft, could leave the board in the first round. But questions about whether he’s the answer will come.
Free agency will provide further reminders of quarterback demand far outweighing its supply this spring — even for teams that are not projected to need $80 million in cap space for quarterback Deshaun Watson.
What does all of this have to do with Monken? Think back to Berry’s comment about the team’s “stage in its life cycle.” The Browns need to break the cycle of inept offenses and they need to break the cycle of Band-Aids at quarterback. Monken, with his versatility and long tenure, has a chance to right the ship — as much because of his willingness to adapt to his personnel as well as his demanding style.
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“He’s coached a lot of different things,” a high-ranking executive who has interviewed Monken told Yahoo Sports. “So he’s a coach that starts with what he’s got and then builds what he’s going to do around that. I do think he sees big picture, because he’s been in the [college] head-coaching seat before. I think he knows personnel.
“Every coach knows what they want to do, but the really good coaches are the ones that do what they have to do. And I think Todd’s a coach like that.”