After seven weeks of the 2026 NFL season, the Cleveland Browns are 5-2 and sitting atop a stacked AFC North division. It’s safe to say no one saw this coming, so a ton of credit goes to first-year head coach Todd Monken.
Browns general manager Andrew Berry gave Monken a talented young roster, and he has quickly built them into a good football team.
The head coach did that by establishing a caring culture of accountability, and what makes it really effective is that not even Monken is above reproach. Monken isn’t afraid to call things like he sees them, and that includes when he comes up short as well.
While every head coach gives blanket statements about how they have to be better, Monken has publicly called himself out for situations where he was wrong.
Todd Monken isn’t afraid to admit when he’s wrong, and that’s helping the Browns win
Monken has had two instances in the last two weeks where he explicitly called himself out in front of the media or the team. The first came after Cleveland’s Week 6 win over the Baltimore Ravens, where Jerry Jeudy came up big late in the game to help the Browns secure the victory.
Early in the season, Jeudy wasn’t involved in the offense much, and had actually been demoted. After the game, Monken stood at the podium and said, “We’re better on offense when Jerry’s a part of it, and I can certainly do a better job of incorporating him in it. ... We’re better on offense when we’re able to utilize Jerry and what he can bring in terms of his explosiveness.”
Something similar happened after Cleveland’s Week 7 win over the Tennessee Titans, but this time it was in the locker room right after the game. After giving tight end Harold Fannin a game ball for his six-catch, 91-yard performance, Monken joked: “Finally someone got him involved. ... Finally someone got him the ball.” This was the head coach’s way of taking accountability for not getting Fannin involved in previous games.
These comments may seem like a little thing, but they point to something bigger: Todd Monken isn’t going to be a head coach who is so stuck in his ways that it hurts the team. If he thinks one thing, and recognizes that he’s wrong, he’ll actually make a change instead of trying to make his wrong right.
Additionally, by him publicly holding himself accountable and pointing out his own shortcomings, it makes it easy for the team to listen when he’s coaching them hard. The players know that Monken doesn’t even spare himself, so no one could be bigger than the program.
With that approach, the Browns should keep finding wins under Todd Monken.
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