After officially cutting ties with head coach Kevin Stefanski last week, the Cleveland Browns’ first reported interview request was a major head-scratcher.
It’s one thing for general manager Andrew Berry to look into well-respected young guys like Dan Pitcher, Arden Durde, Nate Scheelhaase, and Grant Udinski. Browns fans expected their team to cast a wide net and explore all options, even the unproven ones.
But Todd Monken, the Browns' former offensive coordinator from the Freddie Kitchens disaster in 2019? It didn't take long for the Browns’ search to leave fans completely underwhelmed.
It’s not that Monken’s a bad football coach. His three years as the Baltimore Ravens’ OC were excellent, fueling two of quarterback Lamar Jackson’s best seasons in 2023 and 2024. He also won back-to-back national titles leading the Georgia Bulldogs' offense from 2020-2022.
It’s that he turns 60 next month, and hasn’t been a head coach since leading the college program at Southern Miss over a decade ago.
Monken’s end in Baltimore coincided with John Harbaugh’s dismissal, but reported friction with Jackson is also a major part of the story. According to ESPN reporters Jamison Hensley and Jeremy Fowler, Harbaugh was left managing a deteriorating relationship between his franchise QB and OC, as the Ravens struggled to an 8-9 finish and missed the playoffs this year.
“Despite great success together in 2023 and 2024, Jackson and Monken had chemistry issues this past season, according to team sources. Monken's hard-driving coaching style didn't mesh with Jackson, one source said.
“The communication with Lamar and Todd wasn't as good as it was in that first year," the same team source said. A separate source with knowledge of the situation countered that developing a relationship with Jackson isn't always easy because he can internalize frustrations and keep receipts on perceived slights.”
That report from ESPN dropped on Saturday, Jan. 10, about four days after the Ravens cleaned house. The Browns requested their head coach interview with Monken on Jan. 6, the same day Harbaugh was shown the door.
Cleveland’s next coach will be tasked with developing the team’s young talent on offense, including quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Why the Browns would immediately gravitate toward Monken, knowing his age and old-school coaching style more intimately than most, now feels like a legitimate second-guess for owner Jimmy Haslam; really, he might've just been throwing a bone to a veteran coach he's long respected.
It's still odd, though, seeing how Monken was never a real candidate for the job in the first place. When news broke of Harbaugh taking over as head coach of the New York Giants late Wednesday night, reports of his right-hand man joining him followed almost immediately.
The Browns lost 2 potential head coach candidates to the Giants (and fans are relieved)
The Harbaugh to Cleveland pipe dream was fun while it lasted. While Browns fans were enamored with the idea of landing such a blockbuster hire, it was never really in the cards. Now, entering his age-64 season, Harbaugh was looking for power, money, and a ready-made situation in terms of the roster and salary cap. Haslam might’ve been able to check the money box, but that’s about it.
Harbaugh definitely did the Browns a favor by taking Monken with him to East Rutherford, though. Fans no longer have to fret about a potential nightmare hire that their team showed initial interest in.
Former Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken is expected to join John Harbaugh in New York with the Giants, per source.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) January 15, 2026
This has always been the plan.
With Monken and Harbaugh now both officially out of the running, Jim Schwartz, 59, is the team’s senior candidate by a wide margin. The other nine candidates currently linked to Cleveland have an average age of 38.3, and unlike Monken, Schwartz would be a hire the fanbase would definitely get behind.
The general expectation at this point is for Schwartz to remain on the Browns’ coaching staff as defensive coordinator, with the team adding an offensive-minded coach like Udinski, Pitcher, Scheelhaase, or even Mike McDaniel as the lead man.
That path makes the most sense, at least, and it would constitute a much better ending to the team’s head coach search than the mysterious way it started.