The Cleveland Browns were one of ten different teams to hire a new head coach this offseason, and with so many openings, there was an unprecedented amount of talent available in the hiring cycle. Many huge names were interviewing all over the place, so it was a bit of a letdown for many fans when the Browns were unable to land any of the John Harbaughs, Sean McDermotts, or Mike McDaniels of the world and instead went with a career coordinator in Todd Monken.
Even though Monken wasn’t many fans’ first choice and is getting his first shot at a head coaching gig at age 59, he is as accomplished as any of his peers and has seen plenty of fans and media members warm up to him in the weeks following his hiring. Add Rich Eisen to the list of his supporters, as he recently preached for the fans to stay patient with their new coach.
Eisen stopped by ESPN Cleveland at the NFL Combine to talk about the Browns’ new head coach. He is excited to see what Monken can do and said that it’s way too early to be negative about the hiring.
“Let’s see what Todd Monken can do, I mean, stranger things have happened. I understand this is not the guy that, you want your Ben Johnson. You want that brilliant mind that’s gonna be there for 25 years. You want your Sean McVay, and instead you get a guy who’s not really on your radar screen to get the job based on his inability to somehow get Lamar Jackson to the Super Bowl, but Lamar Jackson did win a couple of MVPs. Let’s see what Todd Monken can do,” Eisen said.
"Let's see what Todd Monken can do, stranger things have happened," – @richeisen on the new Browns HC. pic.twitter.com/swjjDwZd6H
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) February 25, 2026
Monken also won a pair of National Championships leading Georgia’s offense, so it’s going to be fun to see what he can do with this offense that ranked last in the league in scoring over the past two seasons. There’s a reason a handful of assistants with the Baltimore Ravens followed him to Cleveland instead of joining John Harbaugh with the New York Giants, and hopefully that magnetism shows up for Browns fans on Sundays for years to come.
Granted, he has a lot of work to do on the personnel side of things, so patience is key. He has been clear that the quarterback situation is still a work in progress and he has an entirely new offensive line to build, but these are exciting new times in Cleveland with many brighter days ahead.
NEXT: Todd Monken Reveals How He Will Handle QB Situation
