Walking into the Cleveland Browns as head coach in 2026, Todd Monken received a program that was coming off a disastrous 5-12 record. The problem is that it was not a single-season dip. The Browns were 3-14 in 2024. While Monken knows how tough it is to flip the script, he made expectations clear for his camp. Doing so, he urged fans to be patient, as he promised something big is cooking. 

“Well, we’re still a work in progress, and we still have a very young team. As I said, there’s no better time than now with our young roster and we’re still under construction,” Monken said on The Rich Eisen Show.

“We still are in the building of this roster and what we’re doing schematically. And just understand that I said this when I got the job like, wouldn’t it be cool that we’re the start of like 20 years from now when I’m 80 that people look back and go, ‘Man why don’t we do it more like the Browns,’ like 20 years from now that you’ve flipped the narrative to where they’re no longer saying, ‘Browns are going to brown’ and they’re saying that, ‘Why aren’t we more like the Browns, why don’t we do it more like them?’”

Turns out that there is a lot of authenticity in the goal that Monken has set for the Browns. The 2016 and 2017 Browns rosters were also young, but they lacked the guidance of established professionals who could guide the players in the right way. But things are different for this roster. 

Maliek Collins and Jerry Jeudy are among the veterans helping guide their teammates, leading the defense and offense, respectively. Meanwhile, Grant Delpit has taken over what Dan Labbee calls “the leadership locker,” following former occupants Anthony Walker, Jordan Hicks, and other team captains.

As Monken alone will not be enough to make the Browns great again, 20 years later, the present roster has already tapped into the mindset of planting the seed of greatness from now itself. The second-round pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, Carson Schwesinger, is playing through an ankle injury. He sets an example of resilience for his teammates. 

Traces of excellence can already be felt. The Browns have moved to the top of the AFC North after their comeback victory over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 6. Competition remains tight, with all four teams in the division boasting winning records (Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore are each 4-2). Physicality and grit have always defined AFC North rivalries. The Browns have experienced that firsthand in their two divisional games so far this season.

Cleveland and Pittsburgh went head-to-head in a tightly contested Thursday Night Football matchup in Week 4. The Steelers rallied from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter and tied the game 24-24 with 1:42 left in the fourth quarter. The Browns, however, answered with a game-winning drive, capped by Andre Szmyt’s 56-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining. Grant Delpit followed with a key interception to secure Cleveland’s win.

Then came another dramatic finish in their Week 6 home matchup against Baltimore. Schwesinger forced a fourth-quarter turnover, helping the offense get another chance to score after a quiet first half. The Browns responded with a game-tying touchdown, and the defense made several important third-down stops to force Baltimore to punt. With two minutes left, Deshaun Watson led a game-winning drive that put Szmyt in position to hit a 37-yard field goal as time expired.

“Continue to get better,” Jimmy Haslam said when asked about expectations for the 2026 Browns. “To not play ugly. I’m making a joke, but I meant that. We want to be fun to watch. We want to play hard, not make mistakes, look like we got our act together. That’s something we didn’t handle [the] last two years, and expectations are we will this year.”

While Monken hopes to build a program that others will admire 20 years from now, the first step toward that vision has already been taken.