In an era where NFL owners are frantically searching for the next 30-something offensive "wunderkind," the Cleveland Browns have decided to take a sharp turn in the opposite direction. By naming Todd Monken as the 19th non-interim head coach in franchise history on Wednesday, the organization made a historic bet on experience over youth.
Monken, who turns 60 on Feb. 5, is a significant statistical outlier. In 2025, the average age of an NFL head coach sat at a modern low of 47.7.Monken is now one of the three oldest first-time head coaching hires in NFL history. He joins an exclusive club alongside David Culley (65) and Vic Fangio (60). While Bruce Arians was also 60 at the time of his first full-time gig, he previously served as an interim head coach. Culley, Fangio, and Monken reached the top spot at 60 without that "interim" bridge in their careers.
While the "Sean McVay effect" has pushed teams toward fresh perspectives, the Browns are gambling that Monken’s four decades of experience will provide stability a younger coach might lack.
However, history shows that "late-bloomer" head coaches face a brutal transition.
Old Dawg, new tricks? How Todd Monken's age fits with NFL history
The company he keeps: The over-50 rookie
Since 2017, coaching vacancies filled by candidates in their 30s have jumped from 6 percent to 36 percent. By hiring Monken at nearly 60, the Browns are betting against a decade of league-wide data. Aside from Bruce Arians and Mike Zimmer, this list is largely a graveyard of short-lived experiments.
Year | Coach | Team | Age at Hire | Career Record | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2005 | Romeo Crennel | Cleveland Browns | 57 | 32-63 | 1 winning season in 4 seasons; Fired. |
2006 | Brad Childress | Minnesota Vikings | 50 | 39-35 | Made NFC Championship game; Fired year after. |
2006 | Rod Marinelli | Detroit Lions | 57 | 10-38 | Led team to first 0-16 season in NFL History. |
2008 | Jim Zorn | Washington Redskins | 55 | 12-20 | Fired after 2 seasons; 8-8 best record. |
2013 | Bruce Arians | Arizona Cardinals | 60 | 80-48-1 | Made Playoffs in 4 of 8 years as HC including SB Champs |
2013 | Marc Trestman | Chicago Bears | 57 | 13-19 | Fired after 2 seasons; CFL HC experience before Bears. |
2014 | Mike Zimmer | Minnesota Vikings | 57 | 72-56-1 | 2 Division Titles & 3 Playoff Appearances in 8 Years. |
2015 | Jim Tomsula | San Francisco 49ers | 50 | 6-11 | Interim for 1 game in 2010; Only 1 year. |
2016 | Dirk Koetter | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 57 | 19-29 | Started 9-7 and then went 5-11 last two years. |
2019 | Vic Fangio | Denver Broncos | 60 | 19-30 | Fired after 0 playoff appearances |
2021 | David Culley | Houston Texans | 65 | 4-13 | One and Done. |
2022 | Matt Eberflus | Chicago Bears | 51 | 18-32 | Fired mid-way through 3rd season. |
2025 | Brian Schottenheimer | Dallas Cowboys | 51 | 7-9-1 | Missed playoffs in year 1. |
2025 | Aaron Glenn | New York Jets | 52 | 3-14 | One of the worst teams in the NFL in his first year. |
By the numbers: The veteran success gap
The regular season records of these 14 coaches suggest that hiring a rookie head coach over 50 is rarely a winning formula.
- The Full List: A combined regular season record of 333–424–3 (.440 win percentage).
- The "Arians/Zimmer" Effect: Bruce Arians and Mike Zimmer account for 45.6 percent of the total wins on this list.
- The Adjusted Reality: Without those two, the combined record for the remaining 12 coaches drops to 181–320–1.
- The Bottom Line: Minus the two specific success stories, the combined winning percentage is just .361, which is effectively a six-win season.
The ghost of 2019: Can an old 'Dawg' change his spots?
The most polarizing aspect of the Todd Monken hire isn't just his age, but also the fact that Cleveland fans already know him. Monken served as the offensive coordinator for the 2019 Browns, a season that began with Super Bowl aspirations and ended in a 6-10 disaster.
That season, the offense ranked 22nd in scoring despite having Nick Chubb, Odell Beckham Jr., and Jarvis Landry. Reports described a "total mess" where Monken and Freddie Kitchens were famously never on the same page. While Monken found elite success in Georgia and Baltimore afterward, the question remains: Can he maintain that standard as the man to lead the entire locker room?
The Haslam cycle and the Monken gamble
Hiring a 60-year-old whose previous tenure in the building was defined by dysfunction is a calculated, high-stakes risk for a franchise that has cycled through seven head coaches under the Haslams’ ownership. Owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam called Monken a "tough and straightforward" leader with a "clear vision" in their official statement, but fans have heard similar platitudes for over a decade.
General manager Andrew Berry noted that Monken’s "demanding leadership style" is a match for a team at this "life cycle," but the reality is that life cycles for NFL coaches over 50 are historically short. If Monken doesn't turn out to be the rare "Arians-style" outlier, history suggests this "Old Dawg" hire might lead to a very familiar result for Cleveland: another coaching search in three years or less.