Coaching changes do more than change the play calls. A new voice can shift the energy in a building, change how players respond to adversity and give a team a different identity. That impact does not always show up in the standings right away, but players notice it immediately. In Cleveland, the change has already shown up in both places.
Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com explained what makes Todd Monken different from the coach he replaced.
“Todd Monken knows coaches receive too much credit when the team wins and too much blame when the team loses. But he also knows coaching can make a difference. What Monken has brought to the Browns is a new spirit, a freshness that was needed after six years of Kevin Stefanski. He is a more emotional presence than the former coach, and that has been well received by the players so far,” Pluto wrote.
Pluto’s comparison is not a knock on Kevin Stefanski. Stefanski won Coach of the Year twice in Cleveland, ended a 17-year playoff drought in 2020 and led the Browns back to the postseason in 2023. By the end of his tenure, though, the team had slipped to last place in the AFC North, and it needed a different voice.
Monken has brought that. His emotion has shown up all season, from his blunt rejection of the idea that the Browns would be the same old Browns after the Week 2 win in Tampa Bay to celebrating with fans around the stadium after beating the Carolina Panthers.
That energy has carried over to the players. Monken described a chippy practice week after the 34-10 loss in Jacksonville, and his team responded by winning 4 of its next 5 games.
Pluto’s broader point, that the Browns are watchable again, may be the best compliment of all. For years, many Browns games were hard to sit through. This team has made almost every week entertaining, and much of that comes from the personality of the man leading it.
That spirit will be tested again Sunday in Tennessee at the start of a 3-game road trip. If Monken’s team keeps playing with the same emotion and belief, the Browns will be in good position to stay on top of the division.
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