Todd Monken made a noticeable impression on the Cleveland Browns with his no-nonsense attitude during his first minicamp practices as an NFL head coach. But that was in limited two- and three-day stints.
Now, the 60-year-old is about to embark on his first training camp in charge. It will be interesting to see if he can maintain that energy during the upcoming grind.
Insider Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com said she believes Monken will bring that same approach to training camp, which is in stark contrast to even-keeled predecessor Kevin Stefanski.
“I think one of the things that stands out to me about Todd is that he really does wear his emotions on his sleeve. He’s going to bring a different vibe and a different energy to practice. I think that’s one of the key things about him. If he’s mad, you’re going to hear about it. If he’s happy, you’re going to know it. This is just a completely, completely different vibe, and it brings along with it a different culture on the football team,” Cabot said.
"He's going to bring a different vibe and a different energy to practice. If he's mad, you're going to hear about it. If he's happy, you're going to know it. This is just a completely, completely different vibe."
➡️ @MaryKayCabot w/ @CLETalkingHeads on the expectation around… pic.twitter.com/ruf4pnZlJZ
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) July 28, 2026
Monken certainly will need every ounce of vigor he can muster with everything he has on his plate. There is an ongoing quarterback competition between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders that he hoped to have settled by now.
Add to that a completely rebuilt line that needs to jell as the potential key to the entire offense, and figuring out a unit that could have as many as eight new starters on that side of the ball. On defense, the Browns will have a completely new identity with edge rusher Jared Verse and first-time coordinator Mike Rutenberg replacing Myles Garrett and Jim Schwartz.
Monken has embraced the challenge of changing the Browns’ culture and narrative surrounding the beleaguered franchise since he was hired in January after a lengthy search process. During spring practices, he was more than willing to remove a player from drills if he felt that he wasn’t performing up to the standard he was trying to establish.
Monken has vowed that there will be no rest days for veterans at camp, which are pretty much universal around the NFL. His stern approach may have worked in short bursts, but the realities of a weeks-long drudgery could potentially lead to some blowback.
As one of the oldest first-time NFL coaches in history, Monken has waited a very long time for this opportunity, so he should be able to find plenty of motivation to get to work every day.
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