Fittingly, the one candidate no one took all that seriously during the Cleveland Browns’ extensive search will reportedly be named the 23rd head coach in franchise history.
According to the NFL insider Adam Schefter the Browns have settled on Todd Monken as their replacement for Kevin Stefanski. The veteran coach, who will turn 60 next month, brings a wealth of college and NFL experience to Cleveland, including a short stint as the head coach of Southern Miss (2013-15) and the past three years as the offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens.
This is a return of sorts for Monken, who was the Browns' OC in 2019, during the one-year Freddie Kitchens debacle. He’s back as a head coach for the first time at the NFL level, after beating out fellow finalists Jim Schwartz and Nate Scheelhaase.
Monken’s hiring marks a merciful end to Cleveland’s three-plus week search, which was prolonged by multiple candidates pulling their names from consideration. In the end, owner Jimmy Haslam likely felt most comfortable with the veteran coach who doubles as an offensive mastermind, rather than the young and unproven Scheelhaase, and the known commodity in Schwartz who the team preferred to keep on staff as the de facto head coach of the defense.
Todd Monken beats the odds to land Browns head coaching job
It was a surprise two weeks ago when, after John Harbaugh was named the next head coach of the New York Giants, ESPN’s Peter Schrager reported that Monken was still in play for the Browns job and was getting an in-person interview. That report held true, but reuniting with Harbaugh in East Rutherford still felt like a foregone conclusion.
Monken clearly wanted a crack at being an NFL head coach, though, and given his past experience with the team and area, the Browns had the luxury of choosing an offensive-minded candidate that actually had Cleveland No. 1 on his list.
He’s an elite play-caller who helped Lamar Jackson post some MVP seasons with Baltimore, but he also reportedly clashed with Jackson during the 2025 season as the Ravens missed the playoffs for the first time in four years. Finding and developing Cleveland’s QB of the future will be a massive part of his new job, along with breathing life into an offense that was one of the worst in football in 2025.
Monken’s offensive philosophy feels like a strong fit for the team’s current roster, as he helped build the Ravens’ offense into a multi-faceted attack that included a heavy emphasis on the running game while creating mismatches with two tight ends on the field. That suits the Browns, whose best skill position players are tight end Harold Fannin Jr. and running back Quinshon Judkins.
This definitely wasn’t the sexy hire that most Browns fans wanted, as Scheelhaase or Udinski would’ve been. But at least the team didn’t spend three-plus weeks interviewing candidates only to land back on Schwartz as head coach. The Browns need a fresh voice and a new approach, and Monken’s uniquely qualified.
He should be able to put together a staff rather quickly. The Browns will have to start acting with more urgency, though, as they were the eighth of the NFL’s 10 teams to name a new head coach during this hiring cycle.