Todd Monken is kicking off his head coaching journey in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns in the 2026 season. Although he has been the assistant coach (WR coach, offensive coordinator, and QB coach) of multiple NFL teams, Monken’s HC debut will be with a struggling Browns unit. And ahead of the regular season, Monken shares two cents about his team.
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“I only know what I know and the way [Deshaun] does it works for [Deshaun] and he’s had unbelievable success either by philosophy of how you practice or systems,” Monken told reporters. “So I only know what I know and I know we’ve got a young team that needs to work and needs to develop and our quarterbacks need to work.
“So I think the more mature your team is and the older you are. I think there are certain times you do have to pull back. But your first year with a young team trying to get as close as you can, ready to start fast out of the gates. I like where we’re at.”
To be frank, there are expectations around Todd Monken as head coach. The Cleveland Browns haven’t been in the best of their form lately, reaching the playoffs only twice (2020 and 2023) in the last six seasons.
On top of that, Cleveland’s offensive unit finished in the 31st position in scoring offense by averaging 16.4 points per game last season. But to fix that issue, Monken completely dismantled the previous system. In its place, he instituted a philosophy focused on player-centric playcalling.
“First of all, they’ve been awesome,” Monken said about changing fundamentals at Cleveland. “What’s really cool is they let me be me. They just do. And I’m not perfect, but they let me be me and coach ’em and be authentic and be honest with ’em, and they’re honest with themselves. And so that’s been really fun.”
Other than that, in collaboration with General Manager Andrew Berry, Monken reconstructed the offensive line following the retirement of veteran guard Joel Bitonio. He integrated draft capital by slotting in 9th overall pick Spencer Fano at left tackle while rotating him with a healthy Dawand Jones.
Then, in the playmaking department, rookie KC Concepcion, drafted under Todd Monken’s watch, scored a 14-yard rushing TD against the Chicago Bears in the preseason game and already appears promising. And with such a commanding role, Monken is only raising the expectations around the Browns for the 2026 season among the fans.
However, the Browns HC still confesses to the holes to be filled, be it in terms of selecting the franchise QB between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders, or improving young guns like KC Concepcion.
On that note, it will be interesting to see how Cleveland performs in the upcoming preseason games against the Buffalo Bills (August 22) and the New England Patriots (August 27) before heading into the regular season.