The Cleveland Browns hiring Todd Monken to be their next head coach was not the top choice on most people’s list, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t the right move. Excitement has begun to build now that fans are learning more about Monken’s experience and hearing more and more former players and colleagues vouch for him publicly.
At 59 years old, Monken will finally get his first head coaching opportunity, and it will be interesting to see how he adjusts his game in his first year in charge. As mentioned earlier, many former players are big fans of his and believe he’ll have no problem with the adjustment, and that includes legendary return man Josh Cribbs.
During a recent episode of The Top Dawgs Show, Cribbs and the crew discussed Monken’s ability to lead the team in the right direction.
Cribbs believes Monken can make a huge difference and explained why.
“I was a Schwartz guy, and it was mainly because I didn’t want a young guy to come and buddy buddy buddy with these athletes who need structure. That’s why I wanted to go with a Schwartz, an older guy who can get these guys in line because we have a good nucleus,” Cribbs said.
Do you trust Todd Monken to lead this core in the right direction? #DawgPound@JoshCribbs16 explains why Monken can make a difference as a veteran coach.
Win a FREE Bath: https://t.co/un4roGElkE pic.twitter.com/3h6jjbOIXq
— The Top Dawgs Show (@TopDawgShow) February 7, 2026
Monken is that older coach, and by all accounts is a great coach when it comes to tough love and accountability. Those may not have been Kevin Stefanski’s strong points, but Monken is more of a typical old school coach who will embrace and defend his players while also truly commanding greatness from them.
At 59 years old and with a pair of National Championships and a couple of historic offensive seasons with the Baltimore Ravens under his belt that featured a Lamar Jackson MVP and a Derrick Henry 1,900-yard season, Monken is more than qualified to turn this offense around and will hopefully have no issues getting this entire team to buy into a new era of accountability.
Hopefully, Cribbs is right.
There were plenty of exciting young offensive minds the team could have hired, but with where this franchise is in its development, perhaps it was wise to go with the savvy old vet.
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