The Cleveland Browns hired Todd Monken this offseason to fix their struggling offense, and he made it clear on Monday that he isn't afraid to make a tough decision.
In a way, Monken created more obstacles for himself on his path to naming Deshaun Watson as his Week 1 starter at quarterback.
While he insisted that the Browns’ quarterback battle between Watson and Shedeur Sanders remained an open competition through Saturday’s preseason game against Buffalo, it was pretty clear, based on the distribution of practice reps, which way he was leaning entering the weekend. Watson’s abysmal performance against the Bills and brutally tone-deaf press conference afterward — one he had to address Monday before taking questions from the media — only complicated a decision that had already been made.
As for Browns fans doing everything possible to express their desires to watch anyone other than Watson play quarterback for their team in 2026, that energy may have had an adverse effect on Monken’s ultimate decision.
The same old-school, no-nonsense coach the fan base has been gravitating to over the past six months made it clear that he put “zero” stock into their feelings on Watson when landing on his Week 1 starter.
"Absolutely not. Zero,” Monken said. “There was nothing to do with that. I mean, ultimately the fans want us to win and put a good product on the field. That’s really what they want, OK? So that’s our job as coaches and why we’re hired to try to put the best product on the field, and when we don’t then I understand the frustration.
But, ultimately, they don’t decide who plays. Who would I be if I let someone from outside the building decide who plays?”
Todd Monken wasn't about to let public opinion shape his biggest decision as head coach of the Browns
Say what you will about Monken, his quarterback decision, and what came off as a complete dismissal of the people who ultimately pay his salary. He was never going to be a pushover. We got that vibe as soon as he arrived in Berea back in January.
While he said the quarterback competition is now over and that it won’t be a week-to-week discussion internally, Monken also repeatedly came back to making the best decision for Week 1, specifically with that game being on the road.
He’s long hinted that Watson’s experience with a silent cadence and the full road-environment operation gave him an edge over Sanders. That edge likely existed back during the spring program. It’s why Saturday’s preseason game didn’t sway the decision in Sanders’ favor.
The fact that Cleveland will open the season with back-to-back road games as heavy underdogs against the Jaguars and Buccaneers clearly weighed heavily into Monken's decision.
As for the fan base’s attempt to make the decision for him? That likely factored in as well.
Monken didn’t spend decades as a football coach to get his first NFL head-coaching opportunity and immediately start pandering to fans.
We’ve been celebrating Monken’s authenticity, and he’s stayed true to form. We can criticize him for awkwardly labeling Sanders vs. Watson “a competition” while having an obvious lean toward Watson from Day 1 of the offseason program, but it’s hard to crush him over Monday’s controversial decision.
This is who the Browns picked. It's exactly who Todd Monken is and said he was going to be.
Add us as a preferred source on Google