Cleveland Browns fans rejoiced at Jarvis Landry's latest comments on Kevin Stefanski.
In the second episode of his 4th and South podcast with Leonard Fournette, the former Browns wide receiver shed some light on his days in Cleveland and his honest thoughts on the former head coach.
While Landry had good things to say about Stefanski, he argued that he may have bit off more than he could chew when he went from offensive coordinator to head coach. That may have led to a disconnect between himself, the coaching staff, and the players:
"Being in Cleveland and playing there, he was cool to be around. But it almost felt like, as much as he knew what he was doing, maybe he didn’t," Landry said. "For some reason, it felt like the spark and connection between the coaches and players started to dim out. ... You expect most of these coaches that are younger to be more personable, more relatable with their players, and most cases, it just doesn’t work out that way."
That's why, even though Todd Monken, like Stefanski, doesn't have prior head-coaching experience, his age and time in the business might be just what this team needs to recapture the synergy it so clearly needs.
Todd Monken wasn’t the popular choice, but he might be exactly what the Browns needed
Most Browns fans admittedly didn't want the team to hire Monken. In fact, he never looked like a realistic candidate until the final stretch, as the team seemed to be focused on Nate Scheelhaase, Grant Udinski, or Jim Schwartz.
However, Monken hasn't needed much time to win over the fanbase. He's passionate, obsessed with the game, and has sent a clear "no-nonsense" message from the moment he took the reins of the team. It's all about effort, accountability, and doing your job.
That said, he hasn't been a distant guy. To the contrary, he revealed that he reached out to Joel Bitonio, has been in constant communication with Shedeur Sanders, and has kept an open-door policy during his initial stretch with the organization.
Personality is a big part of the head coach's job. They have to manage the huge egos of players making three times as much as they do, and they must be a bridge connecting all levels of the organization, from ownership all the way to the last guy on the practice squad.
Perhaps Stefanski wasn't the best communicator, and that's not an indictment on his knowledge or expertise as a football mind. Landry played for him for two years and admittedly enjoyed his time there, but even when he left in 2021, he could already tell that Stefanski was starting to lose his grip on the organization.
Todd Monken will tell it as it is; no one will ever have to guess what's on his mind because he won't hesitate to let it be known. His tough love and old-school approach might be just what this roster needs, but he's also someone who knows how to teach and develop younger players, as he showed during his time at Georgia.