When the Cleveland Browns’ head coaching vacancy opened up after the firing of Kevin Stefanski, most fans had grand visions of landing a big name like John Harbaugh, Mike McDaniel, or Klint Kubiak. Todd Monken felt like a Plan B since he joined the team so late in the hiring cycle, but excitement has gradually built over the past few months.
Just because Monken wasn’t first on anybody’s list and wasn’t the blockbuster hire doesn’t mean he isn’t the right man for the job. He is fresh off of two national championships with Georgia and led Lamar Jackson to arguably his two best years while he was the offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens. Obviously we won’t know until the team gets on the field, but Monken might have been exactly what this organization needed.
During a recent appearance on Baskin & Phelps, Daryl Ruiter said the same. He believes Monken’s hands-on approach is going to greatly benefit this organization.
“Some head coaches, they just stand off to the side and they just let the assistants run the practice, and they’re just observers. Todd Monken gets his hands dirty. He’s in there. He was walking through players, what he wanted on specific plays. It’s just one spring practice. It was organized. There seems to be more accountability in practice. Being able to check off all those boxes is a positive. Do I think that’s going to equate to them being a better football team this year? Absolutely,” Ruiter said.
"Todd Monken gets his hands dirty. It's just one spring practice…it was organized. There seems to be more accountability in practice. Do I think that's going to equate to them being a better football team this year? Absolutely." @RuiterWrongFAN w/ @CLETalkingHeads on the… pic.twitter.com/m96EPQ9SG0
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) May 21, 2026
So far, Monken doesn’t sound like he has a lot in common with Kevin Stefanski. He was outspoken about how he wasn’t encouraged by the interceptions at minicamp this week, and it didn’t go unnoticed how direct he was when he touched on the subject. Stefanski didn’t always handle things that way, so it will be interesting to see if this becomes a trend and if the team responds well to it.
He is also a strong advocate for his players and appears excited to be in the trenches getting to know his new squad. He spoke highly of Quinshon Judkins this week as well, comparing him to a bull and praising him for his work ethic.
Fans will learn a lot more about Monken when training camp gets underway, but so far so good. The sexy hire has backfired in the NFL many times, and for a team that has never had sustained success, perhaps the old school, hands-on coach was the right way to go.
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