Could the Cleveland Browns move on from head coach Todd Monken after just one season at the helm? That is what one team insider believes is increasingly possible given circumstances in Northeast Ohio less than three weeks before the start of the regular season.
Jack Duffin, of The Orange and Brown Report, suggested on Tuesday, August 25 that Monken’s decision to open the season with Deshaun Watson at quarterback adds significant fuel to the fire behind an already-existing notion that Monken may be a one-and-done head coach in Cleveland.
“With Todd Monken putting his coaching future on the shoulders of Deshaun Watson, he has never felt more like a one and done head coach than he [does] now,” Duffin said, per TheDawgsPodcast on Instagram.
Deshaun Watson Alienated Browns Fans 1 Day Before Todd Monken Named Him Starting QB
GettyQuarterback Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns.
While NFL teams and their head coaches certainly should not make major decisions, such as who starts at quarterback to begin a season, based on the opinions of the fanbase, there is some cause for concern about Monken’s tone-deafness with regards to Watson in particular.
Browns fans booed Watson mercilessly last Saturday on the QB’s way to a 5-of-12 outing for 36 yards and an interception.
After the contest, Watson responded to a question about the fans booing him: “I don’t care.”
He then went on to accuse the fanbase of making it personal, denying that they were expressing their displeasure with how he has played on the field and referencing cheers when he tore his Achilles tendon in October of 2024.
Several Browns writers and analysts suggested that Cleveland couldn’t possibly name Watson the starter after his performance against the Buffalo Bills in the team’s preseason Week 2 contest and his subsequent comments. However, that’s precisely what Monken did the following day.
ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky came out publicly saying that he would boycott the team this season were he a fan based on how the franchise has approached the quarterback position.
“Browns fans should not go to games,” Orlovsky said during an edition of “First Take” on Monday, August 24. “At some point, there has to be a tipping point.”
“To watch that press conference and to hear him say ‘I get more love in road games.’ What would you expect the love to come from?” Orlovsky continued.
Todd Monken Can Still Transition to Shedeur Sanders, but May Prove too Late
GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
Cleveland opens the regular season with two back-to-back road games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, respectively.
Some have suggested that perhaps Monken went with Watson because if he struggles mightily, the team can transition to second-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders ahead of its home opener on September 27 against the Carolina Panthers.
However, if that is Monken’s line of thinking, it’s fair to wonder why he wouldn’t just start Sanders from the jump and make the fans happy with the more popular of two less than ideal options?
It is now fair to wonder if Monken, a first-time head coach who spent the last three years running the Baltimore Ravens‘ offense, will lose the confidence and respect of Browns fans — the majority of whom appear to want Sanders over Watson — after ignoring their obvious input across the course of the entire offseason.
Browns Predicted to Fire Todd Monken After 1 Year Based on Latest Decision