It barely took Todd Monken 60 seconds to drop his first cuss word into the mic during his introductory press conference as head coach of the Cleveland Browns on Tuesday.
As owner Jimmy Haslam revealed later, what Browns fans saw Tuesday was about as buttoned-up as their new coach gets.
“I think players, and really all of us, want to see real guys,” Haslam said. “And what you saw today, that’s how Todd is. He might cuss a little bit more, but that’s really what Todd is like, OK? And you see the emotion, you see the faith, you see the drive, the confidence. What you saw for the 25 minutes that he was up there today — that’s Todd Monken.”
Haslam didn’t even have to say the name “Kevin Stefanski.” Anyone who tuned in Tuesday had to be thinking the same thing: The Todd Monken era is about to be a whole lot different than the past six years in Cleveland.
Stefanski’s guarded, almost robotic approach to his media responsibilities wore Browns fans down to a pulp. He was always classy and polite, with his trademark of responding to each reporter’s question by their first name. But he also constantly deflected with non-answers and very rarely said anything of real substance.
In the NFL world, the local media is the head coach’s direct line to the fan base. The messaging through those weekly pressers is important, and Stefanski came off painfully overcautious, rarely showing a shift in his demeanor or tone, like an AI bot taking a customer through a technical issue.
That’s why Monken, in a matter of seconds, began to win over wary Browns fans on Tuesday afternoon. Behind the microphone, he’s the anti-Stefanski. And of all the offensive-minded head coaches Cleveland could’ve brought in during this hiring cycle, no one represented such a stark shift in culture and messaging as Monken.
Browns fans will actually connect with Todd Monken on a human level
The viral moment from Monken’s presser was his response to a question on defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who remains under contract but away from team headquarters after losing Cleveland’s head coach job to Monken.
Browns fans have had Schwartz’s back throughout this whole process, but Monken drew a line in the sand on Tuesday in a way that hit home.
Monken not only answered the question head-on — a refreshing change from the “I appreciate the question, Mary K, but…” we heard from Stefanski for six years — but added a human touch. He looked directly at the reporter, but he might as well been looking at Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward, and the other leaders of Cleveland’s defense with his response.
“I’m not planning on changing the system. We’re built for the system that they’re in currently. And I’m not going to get into staffing, because that’s not at this time … but they can be rest assured that we’re going to keep the same system. We’re still going to let them attack. We’re still going to let them play free. I can’t see any other way.
They’re a big reason why I took this job, the defensive players. I didn’t take this job for Jim Schwartz."
Look, Monkens’ expletives — like his promise to lead a “kick-ass football team” for the Haslams, and blurting out “s—” as the emotions got to him while thanking his family — were fun and definitely refreshing.
But it’s the more human, old-school, football-sicko vibe that are going to have Browns fans fully bought in and loving their new head coach come training camp this year.