CLEVELAND, Ohio — The prevailing narrative on sports talk radio and social media after the Browns hired Todd Monken as their 19th head coach was that owner Jimmy Haslam made the call and that GM Andrew Berry was overruled on Rams pass coordinator Nate Scheelhaase.
The truth is, Monken, 59, was the ‘strong No. 1 choice’ of everyone on the search committee, including Berry, league sources tell Cleveland.com.
Granted, the Browns really liked Scheelhaase, 35, and believe he’ll be an excellent head coach someday, probably soon.
But Monken was high on the list from the start, and Berry’s first choice — like everyone else’s — when the Browns made their decision on Tuesday among their three finalists of him, Scheelhaase and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.
In fact, Monken, who brings a deep, strong and eclectic offensive resume, blew everyone away on the search committee throughout the entire interview process, sources said. The committee included former Chargers and Raiders GM Tom Telesco, who gave Berry his first NFL job with the Colts. After thoroughly researching 23 candidates, the Browns narrowed their external interviewees to eight to go along with their internal candidates in Schwartz and former Browns offensive coordinator Tommy Rees.
Monken, the former Browns offensive coordinator here under Freddie Kitchens in 2019, was part of the elite eight, and the first request made by the Browns the day after they fired Kevin Stefanski. He was very high on that short list from the start, and never left that perch. He was also the second person to interview a second time after Schwartz.
Schwartz, 59, came very close to getting the job, but the differentiator was Monken’s offensive experience and tremendous success everywhere he’s been at a time when the Browns’ No. 1 priority is to transform their offense.
In fact, the Browns believe that if Monken were 39 instead of 59 — he’s turning 60 on Thursday – most of the 10 teams needing coached would’ve clamored for him. Instead, the Browns were the only team to interview him this cycle, and if they supply him with a winning quarterback, the other teams just might be kicking themselves.
He’s so accomplished that his former Ravens boss, Giants coach John Harbaugh, tried to talk him out of taking the Browns job, and waited 24 days to see if he’d be joining him in New York as coordinator.
In Monken, the Ravens’ highly-successful coordinator the past three seasons, the Browns landed a coach who’s extremely smart, innovative and creative, but also one who brings the old-school discipline that other candidates lacked.
One need only watch some of the old clips of Monken coaching at Oklahoma State and elsewhere to see his demanding, no-nonsense style.
What’s more, all of the Browns’ reference work highlighted his skill in developing young players. Having spent 26 years in the college ranks, including helping Georgia to back-to-back national championships in 2021-22 as coordinator, Monken has the perfect mix of tough love and benevolence, almost in a paternal way. It’s exactly what this young Browns roster needs, especially with another big batch of rookies coming in 2026.
Monken is also detail-oriented, collaborative and presented a good proposal for all three sides of the ball. He offered a good staffing plan, which is already coming to fruition at Browns headquarters. Monken has lured some of his best assistants from the Ravens, including offensive line coach George Warhop, offensive coordinator Travis Switzer, who’s soon to be hired, and pass game coordinator Danny Breyer. He’s currently interviewing Yale-educated Daniel Stern as associate head coach and game day manager, where he’ll assist with clock management, coach’s challenges, fourth down chances and the like.
Ideally, Schwartz will return as defensive coordinator, and Monken will have a ready-made premier defensive staff that can pick up where it left off with one of the most dominant defenses in the NFL.
Monken, who prefers a mobile quarterback, is also, detail-oriented, collaborative and embraces all of the analytics for which this Browns front office is known.
When Monken was here in 2019, Browns players such as Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry loved playing for him, and confided in him. When they had an issue with what they perceived as a cliquey quarterback room, they turned to Monken to broker a meeting.
Monken’s enthusiastic welcome of Shedeur Sanders in his first day in the office on Friday provided a window into his player relations. He’ll drop an expletive when necessary, but also warmly embrace his players. He’s tough and demanding, but funny and relatable. He’s also self-deprecating, unabashedly genuine and can laugh at himself.
Monken used to joke here in 2019 that his Thursday availabilities were his “weekly dentist appointments,” (often trying to answer for Freddie Kitchens’ game day gaffes) and has kidded that even his wife questions his playcalling.
He blamed himself for not coaching Jackson well enough last season, even though Jackson has been described as difficult inside the building.
He’s run top 10 offenses in college and the pros, including in Baltimore and Tampa Bay, and has run everything from the Air Raid at Oklahoma State to the power running game. He’s worked with dropback passers like Stetson Bennett at Georgia to a dual-threat QB like Lamar Jackson and has excelled with every style. Jameis Winston threw for 4,000 yards under him in Tampa, Baker Mayfield threw for 3,827 yards under him here, and Jackson earned his second NFL MVP award in Monken’s first year as offensive coordinator in Baltimore. He also threw for 41 touchdowns and only four interceptions his second year.
In Monken’s only other stint as a head coach, from 2012-15 at Southern Miss, he took over an 0-12 team and led it to a 9-5 record and bowl game by his third season. Winning Conference USA’s Coach of the Year, he ran one of the most explosive offenses in the NCAA, with the Golden Eagles leading the nation in plays of 20+ yards (109) and ranking second in the country in plays of 30+ yards (54).
Everywhere he’s been, the offense lights up and players have their best career seasons, similar to Schwartz’s impact on the defensive side of the ball.
Ideally, his career trajectory will mirror that of Bruce Arians, who was hired as head coach by the Cardinals for the first time at the age of 60 — after serving as Colts interim coach in 2012 when Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia. Arians went on to become the first interim coach to win AP NFL Coach of the Year and won it again two years later with the Cardinals. He also won Super Bowl LV with the Bucs after the 2020 season.
Over the past eight years, Monken has had four other head coach interviews: the Packers in 2019, the Los Angeles Chargers in 2024, and the Bears and Jaguars in 2025.
Again, the Browns really liked Scheelhaase, and he was a legitimate finalist, as was Schwartz. But Scheelhaase’s offensive track record paled in comparison to that of Monken, who was the top choice of everyone on the committee, and a leader in the clubhouse from the jump.
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