The Cleveland Browns are in a position that few believed they’d be in after 6 weeks of the NFL season. At 4-2, they are tied with the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers atop the AFC North, a division that was supposed to be ultra-competitive with Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, and Aaron Rodgers as the three quarterbacks to contend with.
Many figured that, after losing Myles Garrett, the Browns’ defense would take a massive step in the wrong direction, but that unit has been excellent through six weeks. The offense has been serviceable enough to win four games, and Deshaun Watson seemingly has a strong handle on the starting QB job, another surprise based on preseason expectations.
A lot of this success has been attributed to new head coach Todd Monken, who has helped lead this team to their 4-2 start. Mike Tomlin, the former Steelers coach-turned analyst, was asked about Monken on the Sunday Night Football broadcast.
After admitting that he “kinda likes Coach Monken,” he was quick to add, “I didn’t say we were friends.”
LEGENDARY #STEELERS HC MIKE TOMLIN SPOKE ABOUT #BROWNS HEAD COACH TODD MONKEN.
Mike Tomlin: “I kinda like Coach Monken”
Maria Taylor: “Y’all friends now?”
Tomlin: “I didn’t say we were friends….”
Tears 💀💀💀 pic.twitter.com/JfXzg3fDZX
— MLFootball (@MLFootball) October 19, 2026
Tomlin might not be the Steelers’ head coach anymore, but that doesn’t mean that his old allegiances have faded. As a broadcaster, he’s supposed to be as neutral as a person can be when it comes to picking sides, but that might not be the case when it comes to his disdain for old AFC North foes.
Regardless of how Tomlin feels, it’s hard to deny what Monken has been able to accomplish with a roster that had a lot of questions heading into the year. It has only been six weeks, so there’s a lot of football left to be played, but so far, so good for the Browns.
It will be interesting to see how Monken and the team approach the rest of their schedule, especially with the Steelers and Houston Texans coming up in the next four weeks. Their opponents are relatively light outside of their AFC North foes, so there’s a world where Monken keeps this train moving and the Browns win 10 or more games.
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