The Cleveland Browns are stepping into a new era with former Ravens OC Todd Monken as their head coach. For the past two seasons, he led one of the most dangerous and explosive offenses in football, but now, Monken commands a team that struggled at the bottom of the league with a chaotic quarterback room. Yet, one legendary voice is convinced that Monken is the key to unlocking the true potential of Shedeur Sanders. 

“The guy’s obviously an offensive genius,” Champ Bailey claimed on the Up & Adams show. “I want to see what he does with a true pocket passer like Shedeur Sanders. As long as they get together and start going over what it means to play in his system, I see great things for Shedeur.”

3x NFL All-Pro Bailey, who played alongside Shedeur’s father, Deion Sanders, believes the young quarterback is “talented enough” to make a name for himself in the league. Now with Monken as his head coach, he can truly evolve into a top-tier franchise quarterback.

Monken’s impressive track record backs Bailey’s bold claims. In Baltimore, he was credited with taking Lamar Jackson’s game to the next level. Under him, the two-time NFL MVP found the perfect balance between his generational athleticism and pocket passing. Thus, he produced some of the best passing numbers of his career to date, including 86 touchdowns and a 109.5 passer rating. 

Now there’s no dispute that Sanders doesn’t possess a skill set as promising as Jackson’s. In his first debut season, he completed 56.6% of his passes for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. 

While those numbers don’t scream “future of the franchise,” it is worth noting that the supporting cast around him was rather dull. If anything, Monken can work on those flashes of brilliance that Sanders showed. One of those happened in a game against the Titans, where the rookie posted a 364-yard performance. 

That performance got him an AFC Pro Bowl nod as a replacement for Patriots’ Drake Maye since his team advanced to the Super Bowl. 

Monken is famously flexible with his play-calling. During his time at Georgia, he won back-to-back national titles by coaching Stetson Bennett and Carson Beck to the next level. Interestingly, neither of them was viewed as an elite prospect at the time. 

Perhaps in Cleveland, the new head coach will rely on the ground game to settle Sanders. A run-heavy approach would take the pressure off him, allowing him to win the starting job out of training camp. 

Monken has always known how to get the best out of a player. During his first stint with the Browns in 2019, which was anything but a success, Monken managed to make some stars shine. Nick Chubb hit a nearly 1,500-yard rushing mark, and Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry both surpassed 1,000 receiving yards.

What’s even more interesting is that Monken actually wanted to draft Sanders in 2025. Reports suggest the Ravens were actually prepared to draft Sanders in the fifth round of the 2025 draft. However, Sanders allegedly let it be known that he had no desire to sit behind Jackson. 

However, Monken’s prior interest in Sanders does suggest he already sees something special in him. 

Jim Schwartz is upset with Todd Monken’s hire

Monken certainly reflects promise for Cleveland; however, not everyone seems happy. It turns out owner Jimmy Haslam’s decision to bring a head coach from outside didn’t sit well with his defensive coordinator, Jim Schwartz. He’s reportedly “upset” after being passed over for the head coaching job for the second time in six years. 

“He really felt that he had an amazing chance to get this job… and he’s upset,” reporter Mary Kay Cabot explained.

Things are so alarming that there’s no guarantee Schwartz would return to the Browns, even though he is under contract through 2026. 

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It goes without saying that Cleveland cannot let him go. He’s the reason the defense remains among the league’s elites for years, even when the offense crumbles. 

While Haslam and Monken have expressed a desire to keep him, the next few weeks will determine if this partnership can survive the tension. If they managed to keep him on board (by some miracle), it would allow Monken to focus entirely on the offensive rebuild.