After making a controversial decision to name Deshaun Watson his starting quarterback, Todd Monken lost almost all of the goodwill he had built up in his first eight months as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns. His direct, no-nonsense approach was seen as a refreshing change, until he didn’t satisfy the almost universal desire for Shedeur Sanders as QB1 instead.
The backlash has been so bad that it has ignited discussion that Monken might get only one season in the job. There is talk that he has been set up for failure by the organization, which may have pushed for Watson behind the scenes, and if the poor season that is expected does come to fruition, the Browns will have no problem moving on with a new head coach to go along with a franchise quarterback from the 2027 NFL Draft.
Yet, at least one analyst believes that Monken is in a perfect situation with the Browns, as Spencer German claims the coach has an opportunity to prove how good he is at overcoming a bad situation, even if it is one he helped to create himself.
“I think Todd Monken’s a good coach, and I think Todd Monken is a really good offensive coach. What makes this a good situation for him is that he’s gonna have a chance to take a team that is young, that is trying to develop, that is trying to grow, and show that he can overcome a lot of those things to put together a team that can be competitive. That’s the thing that I think matters for Todd Monken the most. I think he’s gonna prove, ‘I might not have the best situation here, but I squeezed the most juice out of that that I could, and now we can hit the ground running in 2027 and beyond,'” German said.
"What makes this a good situation for him is that he's gonna have his chance to take a team that is young, that is trying to develop…and show that he can overcome a lot of those things to put together a team that can be competitive."
➡️ @Spencito_ to @LanceReisland on #Browns… https://t.co/Makwz7t7tG pic.twitter.com/ryGCB0lLTl
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) September 7, 2026
As one of the oldest first-time NFL head coaches in history, it is hard to blame Monken for wanting to win games right away as opposed to planning for the future. But he made a very interesting calculation in choosing Watson over Sanders, as it’s not like he was deciding between Joe Montana and Steve Young.
As raw and ineffective as Sanders may be at this point, the gap between him and Watson is arguably not great enough to deal with the fallout that’s been created. Already reviled by the fan base, Watson turned it up a notch with his comments after being booed during a home preseason game. In addition, when he was last able to play, in October 2024 before injuring his Achilles, Cleveland was 1-6 in his seven starts that season, and he was one of the worst quarterbacks in the league.
Granted, if Monken is trying to prove he can win games with Watson, that would be a huge accomplishment worthy of some staying power, but if not, no amount of coaching acumen is likely to save him from a pessimistic fate sooner rather than later.
NEXT: Todd Monken Isn't Feeling What You'd Expect Before His Debut
