The Cleveland Browns’ latest search for a head coach was polarizing, and fans weren’t exactly performing cartwheels in the streets when the Todd Monken hire was announced back in late January.
Concerns were calmed almost immediately, though, when fans actually got to hear Monken speak at the podium during his introductory press conference. He cussed. He cried. He laughed. He didn’t even need the full 25 minutes to prove he’s the complete opposite of Kevin Stefanski, and that fans and players will be able to relate to him on a more human level.
Todd Monken? He’s one of us. That’s why his hilarious haircut story from the NFL Annual League Meeting in Phoenix could not be more perfect.
The head coach photo is a tradition unlike any other, one Kyle Brandt of NFL Network has turned into a must-watch bit for Good Morning Football. The outfits. The poses. The expressions. It all makes for fun late-March fodder before things get super serious again around draft weekend.
Monken, per Browns reporter Mary Kay Cabot, was excited about attending his first head coach photo. So excited that he planned to squeeze in a perfectly-timed haircut beforehand.
“As he was heading over for the photo, he ran into Jaguars coach Liam Cohen and mentioned that they had to go get the annual chore taken care of. But Cohen informed him that it had already been taken — about 20 minutes early,” Cabot wrote.
Before long, the photo circulated on social media — with no Monken or Rams coach Sean McVay, so at least he wasn’t the only one.”
Todd Monken’s haircut gaffe just further proves he’s one of us
Folks are obviously going to dunk on the Browns (especially fans of the AFC North) for Monken missing the annual coaches photo — due to a haircut specifically for said photo. They’re all missing the point, though.
Monken probably realized he needed a haircut as he was leaving his hotel. Guys like Stefanski, or Matt LaFleur out in Green Bay, likely never step foot in public with one hair out of place. McVay, who also missed this year's photo, might have been out back fixing his hair when the picture was snapped.
This story is exactly what endeared Monken to Browns fans in the first place when he took the podium in Berea wearing an ill-fitted suit. He might be the most relatable head coach in NFL history, because what Mary Kay described is exactly something any of us (or our parents) would do. The fact that he possesses the self-deprecating humor to share that wild story, rather than deflect and hide the real reason for his absence, says everything.
Monken’s not a punchline. He’s a gift — one Browns fans didn’t even know they needed.