Todd Monken is coming to the Cleveland Browns as the team’s new head coach. To put it more accurately, he is coming back to the Browns because he previously worked for the team in 2019 as their offensive coordinator.
However, his first stint with the Browns wasn’t a good one, and Monken was reportedly unhappy with the team. A quote from Monken that was uncovered by Benjamin Solak on social media makes it clear that things weren’t great between the Browns and Monken.
“Monken would spend time on the field before games telling opposing coaches how bad things were with the Browns, calling the team a ‘total mess,'” Solak posted on X.
Truly hilarious outcome from where Monken and the Browns were six years ago https://t.co/ayAZ11WkUX pic.twitter.com/i8RP50n7mo
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) January 28, 2026
Monken didn’t see eye-to-eye with head coach Freddie Kitchens and was apparently barred from actually calling plays, which surely soured his experience in Cleveland. Thankfully for him, he won’t have to deal with that in his return to the team.
However, 2019 is not that long ago, and some of the factors that made Cleveland such a “mess” for Monken back then might still be in place. At the same time, he will be in a much better position to improve the team and will have certain abilities as a head coach that he didn’t have as offensive coordinator.
This quote may not be what Browns fans want to hear from Monken, especially right now with so much uncertainty around Cleveland. Most people agree that there is dysfunction within the team, and they don’t want it to continue. They hope Monken can come to the Browns, set things straight, and build a stronger culture across the organization.
He will have many issues to address, notably the team’s lacking offense. Luckily for him and the Browns, Monken has extensive experience in offensive play and will not have his hands tied this time around.
Now that he is calling all of the shots, the Browns can be managed in the ways that he wants. But that doesn’t mean that Monken won’t run into problems. The situation may be better for him, but he will still have to clean up a few messes.
He wasn’t happy with the Browns before, but Monken is coming back, and he will try to have a much better experience with the team this time.
NEXT: Browns Insider Has 2-Word Reaction To Todd Monken Hire
