To say that the Cleveland Browns have been through some tough times would be a massive understatement. Long gone are the championship days, and Otto Graham isn't walking through that door any time soon.
As such, stability hasn't been this organization's biggest strength. Since 1999, the Browns have cycled through 10 full-time head coaches. Todd Monken is next in line as the 11th.
Expectations are high for the former Baltimore Ravens' offensive coordinator, but he has to battle with much more than other teams. He also has to fight the team's painful history, and hopefully, beat the odds and fare much better than most of his colleagues.
Looking back, the bar isn't high, though.
How every Cleveland Browns head coach's first season fared since 1999
Chris Palmer (1999): 2-14
There's not too much to say here. With the franchise returning from its hiatus, expectations were as low as the amount of talent on an expansion roster. Still, it was a sign of things to come, as Palmer left the team after just two seasons with a grand total of five wins in 32 games.
Butch Davis (2001): 7-9
With Tim Couch at quarterback and Butch Davis at the helm, things started to look better for the young Browns. They were even 6-4 and looked poised for a playoff berth, but dropping four games in a row ultimately killed all hope. Davis spent four years with the organization, going 24-35 (.407) with one playoff berth. Terry Robiskie went 1-4 as interim head coach after his resignation in 2004.
Romeo Crennel (2005): 6-10
With Phil Savage taking over as general manager, the Browns turned to Romeo Crennel to wipe the slate clean. The result? An underwhelming quarterback race between Trent Dilfer and rookie Charlie Frye and a 6-10 record. Overall, Crennel left with a 24-40 record (.375), though he had a 10-win season with no playoff berth in 2007.
Eric Mangini (2009): 5-11
Once again, the Browns went back to the drawing board with a new GM-HC tandem. Unfortunately, it didn't last long, as George Kokinis was let go just nine weeks into the season. His head coach didn't fare much better, though Mangini didn't have much talent to work with. Other than Joe Thomas and Josh Cribbs, the Browns' roster was pretty deprived of talent. Mangini left after two years with a 10-22 record (.313).
Pat Shurmur (2011): 4-12
Once again, a lack of talent hurt the Browns' first-year head coach. With no 1,000-yard receiver or rusher and Colt McCoy and Seneca Wallace at quarterback, and a defense that ranked 30th against the run, Pat Shurmur's tenure started on the wrong foot. He'd ultimately leave with just nine wins in 32 games (.281).
Rob Chudzinski (2013): 4-12
The Browns actually got off to a promising start under Chudzinski. Despite roster concerns (again), the team jumped out to a 3-2 start before dropping 10 of its final 11 games. Firing a head coach in his first year is pretty unusual, but this one actually made sense.
Mike Pettine (2014): 7-9
Once again, the Browns looked like a team that was trending in the right direction when Pettine took over. With Kyle Shanahan as the offensive coordinator and Pettine's defensive background, they got off to a 6-3 start before things fell apart. Losing Alex Mack to injury was a big blow, and a revolving door at quarterback featuring Brian Hoyer, Connor Shaw, and Johnny Manziel wasn't good enough. Ultimately, Pettine left after two years and a 10-22 record (.313).
Hue Jackson (2016): 1-15
As bad as the Browns have had it, they probably never had it as bad as when Hue Jackson was there. He managed to win just one game in his first year and three of his 40 games overall. These were some dark times, as the Browns had much more talent on both sides of the ball than the record showed. In fact, Gregg Williams led them to a 5-3 record as an interim coach in 2018.
Freddie Kitchens (2019): 6-10
Freddie Kitchens didn't get a fair shot in 2019. Baker Mayfield's regression and locker room drama probably cost him his job, and it would have been interesting to see what this team could have accomplished with more time. Notably, Monken was the offensive coordinator, though Kitchens was the play-caller.
Kevin Stefanski set the modern standard
Kevin Stefanski (2020): 11-5
Kevin Stefanski arrived in Cleveland with the reputation of being an offensive guru, and leading the team to its second playoff berth of the expansion era was more than enough to affirm that. With a much-improved offense, the Browns beat the Steelers in the playoffs to get their first postseason win since 1994. The Browns only returned to the playoffs once in the six years under Stefanski, who left with a 45-56 (.446) record and two Coach of the Year awards.
Clearly, history isn't on Monken's side here, but one could argue that this is one of the most talented rosters in recent Browns history. Monken has the experience, and while it might take more than one year to turn things around in Cleveland, there are more than enough reasons to feel excited.
Add us as a preferred source on Google