The Cleveland Browns‘ search for a new head coach has been filled with quite a few twists and turns. After surprisingly deciding to fire Kevin Stefanski after the 2025 campaign wrapped up, the Browns began an in-depth search for a new leader, with a true frontrunner for the job failing to emerge.
On Wednesday morning, though, it appears that Cleveland has finally locked in on its new head coach after a multi-week search. After dealing with tons of rumors about the lack of candidates for this gig, the Browns have gone out and stolen the Baltimore Ravens‘ offensive coordinator by hiring Todd Monken to be their new head coach.
Browns Hire Todd Monken as New Head Coach
Despite all the success Stefanski had enjoyed in previous years with the Browns, that was not enough to save him from a miserable 2025 campaign. While he quickly latched on with the Atlanta Falcons as their new head coach, it took Cleveland a bit longer to find a proper replacement for the two-time Coach of the Year winner.
Reports emerged indicating just how in-depth Cleveland’s search was, which led to several candidates withdrawing from the running for the job. At the end, it seemed like the team’s defensive coordinator, Jim Schwartz, Los Angeles Rams‘ pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, and Monken were the team’s top remaining candidates.
Monken has never been a head coach in the NFL, although he spent three years as the Southern Miss Golden Eagles head coach in the college realm from 2013 to 2015. Now, he will get a shot to lead the Browns, with the team hoping that his experience working on the offensive side of the ball will help Shedeur Sanders as he presumably gets a shot to make the starting quarterback job his own in 2026.
“ESPN Sources: the Cleveland Browns are hiring former Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken as their next head coach,” Adam Schefter of ESPN reported in a post on X.
Did the Browns Make the Right Decision to Hire Todd Monken?
GettyFormer Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken.
While the decision to hire Monken doesn’t really hurt the Ravens, given that he likely wasn’t going to return to the team as their offensive coordinator in the wake of John Harbaugh’s firing, it does hurt Harbaugh’s new team, the New York Giants. That’s because, assuming Monken didn’t land a head coach gig, he was widely expected to follow Harbaugh to New York and continue working as his offensive coordinator.
Things didn’t exactly end on a high note for Monken in Baltimore, but it’s clear that Cleveland values his experience as an offensive coordinator, which should serve the team well as it attempts to get its act together on that side of the ball. Of course, Monken is going to need some better players at his disposal if he’s going to have a proper shot at succeeding with the Browns, so it will now be up to the front office to rebuild the roster ahead of the upcoming 2026 campaign.
Browns Reportedly Hire Todd Monken to be New Head Coach