Todd Monken’s first coaching break in the NFL came in 2007 with the Jacksonville Jaguars after years of coaching in college. This season, he got his first opportunity as an NFL head coach for the Cleveland Browns. But there was a time when Monken could have been the head coach for the New York Jets.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Back in 2019, when he held the role of the offensive coordinator in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Monken found a potential head coaching opportunity in the New York Jets camp. Had he cracked the interview, he would have become a head coach back then. However, the Jets went with Adam Gase instead. Nevertheless, Monken did get a solid piece of advice from the team.
“Actually, someone from the Jets organization told me this,” Monken recalled at the Browns’ press conference on October 9th. “Now that I’m going to mention it, it was one of the guys that were in the interview process, and he said, ‘Don’t ever forget that you’re a Mercedes. When you look in the mirror, you can’t control if they wanted a Lexus; it doesn’t matter how good a Mercedes you are. If they want a Mercedes, or if they want- I don’t know which way I said it- if they want the other car, there’s nothing you can do about it, right?
“That doesn’t mean you’re not capable. It’s like all of us, right? When you go through interviews, you go through certain stages, and you’re like, you know what, this, there’s things I certainly could have improved, interview and all those things, but ultimately they chose a different model, and that was their choice.”
The Jets were in need of a new head coach after they fired Todd Bowles in 2018. Back then, Monken already had ample coaching experience, college and NFL combined, after stepping into coaching for the first time as a graduate assistant for Grand Valley State football in 1989. Gase, on the other hand, had mostly been in the NFL.
Ultimately, New York chose the latter.
There was considerable disagreement within the Jets’ front office over the hiring decision, per CBS. Several executives believed Monken was the best fit to lead the team and help develop Sam Darnold, leading to some heated exchanges and “spirited debate.” Despite the internal push for Monken, Gase’s NFL head coaching background ultimately resonated more with ownership and then-GM Mike Maccagnan.
Missing the opportunity, Monken eventually became the offensive coordinator in Cleveland. Hearing a ‘no’ from the Jets was really a blessing in disguise.
“I’ve been very lucky throughout my career, you know, to have a lot of really good jobs and be around a lot of really good coaches and great players and that have helped me get a lot better as I’ve grown as a coach,” Monken said. “I really appreciated them interviewing me.”
New York’s choice did little to deliver results, as Gase compiled a 9-23 record during his stint with the team before being fired after the 2020 campaign. He had not held a coaching position from then until now; Gase is a passing game assistant coach for the Los Angeles Chargers.
Todd Monken’s first NFL head coaching opportunity would only come in 2026 with the Cleveland Browns. It was a risky opportunity, given the losing slump the team was in and the urgent need for a turnaround. But the Browns have surprised everyone in the league and are sitting at 3-1 in the division now. Monken is set to face the team that ignored him in 2019 this Sunday.
New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn is also looking forward to the matchup.
“They’re doing a number of good things,” Glenn said on Wednesday. “Our preparation has to be on point, and we look forward to making sure we have a good week of practice to play in front of our fans back home.”