CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns are naming Todd Monken as their head coach, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not announced Monken’s hiring.
Monken, who turns 60 on Feb. 5, was the Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator the last three seasons. He first interviewed Jan. 10 and had a second interview Jan. 20. He also interviewed for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator opening and was tied to the New York Giants coordinator job after former Ravens coach John Harbaugh was named Giants coach.
Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase were also finalists.
Monken is the seventh coach hired by owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam since they bought the franchise in 2012. The previous six compiled a 73-139-1 regular-season record, the second-worst mark in the NFL in that span.
The Browns were 5-12 this season and 8-26 the last two years. They interviewed 10 people for the opening after firing Kevin Stefanski on Jan. 5.
Stefanski — whom the Atlanta Falcons hired as head coach — had a 46-58 record. He was a two-time AP NFL Coach of the Year and led the Browns to the playoffs in 2020 and ’23.
Stefanski was also the first Cleveland coach to last at least six seasons since Sam Rutigliano (1978 through the midway point of the 1984 season).
The Browns also talked to former offensive coordinator Tommy Rees (who has joined Stefanski in Atlanta), Mike McDaniel, Aden Durde, Dan Pitcher, Jesse Minter, Grant Udinski and Anthony Lynn.
Monken, Schwartz, Udinski and Scheelhaase received second interviews.
After announcing Stefanski’s firing, Jimmy Haslam bristled over the narrative that the Browns are a dysfunctional organization. However, the coaching search ended up having more people withdraw their names from consideration than finalists during the three-week search.
Udinski withdrew his name from consideration Monday to remain the Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator.
The Browns had second interviews scheduled with McDaniel and Minter before both canceled. McDaniel, the Miami Dolphins head coach for four seasons, will be the Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator, while Minter was named Ravens head coach after two seasons directing the Chargers defense.
Monken has previous history with the Browns, serving as offensive coordinator on Freddie Kitchens’ staff in 2019. He went to the University of Georgia from 2020-22 and was the offensive coordinator when the Bulldogs won the national title in 2021 and ’22.
The Ravens were second in the league this season in rushing (156.6 yards per game) and 11th in scoring, averaging 24.9 points. Baltimore had the league’s top-ranked offense in 2024, when it became the first team in NFL history to have at least 4,000 passing yards and 3,000 rushing yards in the same season.
Monken also has worked for the Jaguars (2007-10) and Buccaneers (2016-17). He was the head coach at Southern Mississippi from 2011-13 and had a 13-26 record.
Monken’s first priority will be trying to keep Schwartz as defensive coordinator. Schwartz has been the architect of one of the league’s top defenses the last three seasons.
Cleveland led the league in total defense in 2023 and ranked fourth this season as Myles Garrett had 23 sacks to break the NFL single-season record.
Schwartz is under contract to the Browns for one more season, but it remains to be seen what his response will be after being passed over for the head coaching position.
The bigger task for Monken will be trying to find a quarterback and a sustainable offense. Stefanski started a league-high 13 quarterbacks during his tenure, including seven over the last two seasons.
The Browns thought they had their quarterback in 2022 when they released Baker Mayfield and acquired Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans for five draft picks, including three in the first round.
Instead, the trade for Watson has set the Browns back.
Watson has played in only 19 games. He has gone 9-10 as Cleveland’s starter with 19 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and an 80.7 passer rating. He didn’t play this season while rehabbing from a torn Achilles tendon. Watson practiced for three weeks last month but was not activated to the roster.
Watson played seven games in 2023 before a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 10. The Browns brought in Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter and averaged more than 300 passing yards per game, helping Cleveland reach the playoffs for only the third time since 1999.
Jimmy Haslam said during the league meetings last March that the Browns “took a big swing and miss” with the Watson trade and that “we’ve got to dig ourselves out of that hole.”
Shedeur Sanders started the final seven games this season, going 3-4. He faced growing pains, including a makeshift line and missing the leading rusher and receiver for the last two games.
Whether Sanders convinced the Browns he can start next season will be debated in the coming months.
This season’s Browns joined the 1968 Buffalo Bills as the only teams in the Super Bowl era to have rookies lead the team in passing, rushing and receiving yards.
Cleveland has the sixth and 24th selections in the NFL draft.
“Let me just say this: The next 120 days are crucial for the organization,” Haslam said on Jan. 5. “We’ve got to find the right head coach. We’ve got to be efficient again in free agency. We have 10 draft picks, including two (first-rounders). We have four picks in the top three rounds.
“And we’ve got to get really good players who are really good people again. We’ve got to be opportunistic if trade opportunities come along. We are solely focused on having a great 120 days so we can start winning games around here.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/28/cleveland-browns-hiring-todd-monken/
