Todd Monken was earmarked as offensive coordinator of the New York Giants — until he wasn’t.
Monken’s spot on John Harbaugh’s staff in East Rutherford was all but confirmed, as the Cleveland Browns were the only team to interview Monken for a head coach position during this year’s hiring cycle. Monken ended up being the Browns’ first in-person interview, but at the time, he was viewed as a long shot behind Jim Schwartz, Grant Udinski, and Nate Scheelhaase.
In the end, no local or national insider had a firm grasp on the Browns’ mysterious search, and Monken ended up being their guy. Their decision was a crushing blow to Harbaugh, who just lost his OC of the past three years and is now searching for a late replacement.
In fact, per Bob Brookover of NJ Advance Media, Harbaugh didn’t let Monken go without a fight. Harbaugh recently admitted that he tried to talk Monken out of taking the first NFL head coach job of his career.
“I tried to talk him out of it. That’s my job, right? I really thought he was coming with us, but Cleveland was in there all along and he had been there before in 2019 as the offensive coordinator, so they knew him and he wanted this opportunity. He got it and I’m happy for him. I’m really kind of proud of him, but we’ve got to go to work.”
John Harbaugh’s failed pitch to Todd Monken should fire up Browns fans
The Monken hire was met with mixed reviews, to put it lightly. The majority of the fan base had talked itself into one of the team’s younger candidates, Udinski or Scheelhaase. That Monken was the veteran pick over Schwartz, who’s earned the respect of the Browns’ locker room and has prior head coaching experience, was a major surprise.
Temperatures have cooled since, however, and fans are now eager to hear about Monken’s vision for the team during his introductory press conference, which is scheduled for Tuesday at 12 p.m. local time in Berea.
That a big-name coach like Harbaugh resorted to a last-ditch phone call, like a jilted lover, to try and steal Monken back from the Browns should ease fans’ fears. While it’s odd that Monken’s first chance to be a head coach will come at age 60, it’s become clear that his chance was coming. His quick work to assemble an offensive staff — and poach a bunch of Harbaugh’s former assistants in Baltimore — has been telling, and based on the early reporting, he’s already targeting a good mix of young and veteran coaches of varying backgrounds.
Monken clearly sold his message to Browns leadership, and he figures to start doing the same to the wary fan base, starting with Tuesday’s introduction.
Harbaugh’s reaction to Cleveland’s choice certainly qualifies as a solid start.