The Cleveland Browns introduced head coach Todd Monken on Tuesday in Barea, and while there’s little doubt that Monken was fired up about finally getting a chance to be an NFL head coach, he tiptoed around the big issue of whether the team will be bringing back defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.
Monken beat out Schwartz for the head coaching job in Cleveland. Schwartz reportedly felt that he was going to get the job, and left the building angry, vowing not to return as the team’s DC. But while Monken has built out his offensive staff, he has not touched the defense yet, leaving open the possibility of Schwartz returning.
Monken wouldn’t get into the weeds on the issue, but he did say: “I have, I have had a chance to talk with Jim.”
When Monken was asked where he stood with Schwartz at this time, he said, “First of all, I think Jim Schwartz is an excellent defensive coordinator. I think we all would agree with that. But I think it’s a little bit inappropriate for me to comment on that at this time.”
Browns Search Had Several Dramatic Swings
The Schwartz issue is the last remaining domino for the Browns in what has been a dramatic coaching search.
In all, the Browns search seemed to drag on for a lengthy time compared to other NFL hirings, the process wrapped up in just a little more than three weeks from the time Kevin Stefanski was fired after the Browns’ Week 18 win until the time the Monken hiring was officially announced by the team.
It was not exactly a smooth process, either, though it was thorough. The team initially showed interest in fired Ravens coach John Harbaugh, but got no traction with him as he instead took the Giants job without even a Browns interview.
From there, the process started with a pool of 10 candidates, and the Browns planned six in-person interviews out of that group. But half of the scheduled in-person interviews preemptively rejected the job. Former Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel pulled out before his interview, as did Jesse Minter, who is instead taking the job as the head coach of the Ravens.
Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski pulled out after his interview, returning to Jacksonville with a bulked-up contract. The Browns also, embarrassingly, interviewed former Chargers coach Anthony Lynn, essentially to be compliant with the Rooney Rule, but never seriously considered him as a candidate.
That left the Browns with three finalists, mostly by default: Monken, Schwartz and Rams passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase.
Todd Monken Has Varied Experience
For Monken, the Browns gig will be his first head-coaching experience at the NFL level after logging only three years as a collegiate coach—he was head coach at Southern Miss from 2013-15.
In fact, the bulk of Monken’s coaching experience has been in college, where he has coached at Eastern Michigan, Louisiana Tech, Oklahoma State and LSU before a brief interlude with the Jaguars (2007-10) as the receivers coach, and back to Oklahoma State. He left Southern Miss to be the offensive coordinator with the Buccaneers, and went to the Browns for one disastrous season as the offensive coordinator in 2019.
Monken went back to college at Georgia, helping call plays for two NCAA championship teams in 2021 and 2022, and landed back in the NFL with the Ravens for the last three seasons.
Baltimore’s offense rated No. 5 in Monken’s first year as coordinator, per Pro Football Focus, and No. 1 in 2024. The Ravens, wracked by injuries, were No. 14 in offense last season.
That, of course, is Monken’s challenge in Cleveland—the Browns’ PFF offensive rating in the last three seasons has been No. 28 in 2023, No. 32 in 2024 and No. 32 in 2025.
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