From what we have seen of new Cleveland Browns coach Todd Monken, the reaction the season-opening loss to the Jaguars in Jacksonville was not a surprise. Monken deserves credit for being realistic about the team he has in his first-ever head coach gig in the NFL, but at the same time, he has tried to bring a positive outlook to a bunch that won eight games in the last two years. Balancing realism and optimism is not easy, but that’s what being the Browns’ head coach in 2026 requires.
Indeed, it would not have necessarily been bad if the Browns lost to the Jaguars. But what we saw on Sunday in the 34-10 drubbing by Jacksonville was especially discouraging, a mistake-infested display that saw Cleveland turn the ball over twice, without forcing any of their own, give up five sacks and yield 11 penalties–including four on the final drive of the first half, down 24-0 with one longshot chance at getting back into the game.
Todd Monken: Browns Remain a Young Team
But Monken did not show the level of despair for the Browns that the scoreboard suggested might have been appropriate. In fact, he had something of a warning for the rest of the NFL, and the rest of the Browns’ opponents–better to get their licks on on this Cleveland team now, because they’re going to get better as the season progresses.
Said Monken: “There were certain things, operationally, that were not clean enough. Us getting in and out of the huddle, getting our subs in. Being up against it. Saying you’re on the road or the heat, or all that, that’s just a bunch of excuses. … I’m not down. I’m disappointed. You’re not gonna get me down. I waited a long time to be a head coach in this league and it is frickin’ awesome. We’re not where we want to be.
“But they better get us now. We’ve got a young group.”
Todd Monken Not Blaming Deshaun Watson
It’s unlikely that other teams are taking much notice of the Browns, though, not after the return of Deshaun Watson as the QB1 went about as poorly as it could. Watson threw an interception on the fifth play of the season, and things did not get much better from there. In all, the threw for 205 yards, with 46 of those yards coming on a late and mostly meaningless touchdown to Denzel Boston. He completed 16 of 22 passes, and was sacked five times.
Monken got the inevitable question about whether Watson will remain as the quarterback, and said that Sunday’s disaster does not fall on Watson.
The coach added: “I’m sure as hell not firing me. I’m not firing our staff. I’m not getting rid of all our players. He happens to be one of 53 and however many practice squad guys we got. And our staff. He’s one of them. So, we’ll evaluate everything. But to just say that, emotionally, here at the end, we just didn’t play good enough, and didn’t coach well enough.”
Browns Were ‘Humbled’ in Week 1
He added that the Browns, with the second-youngest age in the NFL at 25.5 years, are probably due to get knocked around a bit in the early season. But Monken’s job is to change that, sooner rather than later.
As he said: “First of all, this is the NFL. I would just say that. I would say that. If you do this enough, you’re gonna get humbled. That’s what we do. It doesn’t matter what tram in the NFL. We didn’t play well enough, we didn’t coach well enough. And that’s always going to be it—you’re gonna get tired of me saying that. It’s a we thing, it’s not a me, and it’s not a they thing. It’s a we thing and we’re gonna fight like hell to get better.”
Browns Coach Issues Warning After Blowout Loss