DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Todd Monken Hired as Browns HC

BREAKING: The Cleveland Browns are hiring Todd Monken as the franchise's next head coach, sources tell The Athletic. Monken served as Cleveland's OC in 2019, and now returns to take the top job for the Browns

What a disaster.

Shoutout to Memphis....Todd Monken has been freed!

what a disaster

I suppose the consolation prize is that it could have been much worse. He has extensive experience as an OC and has the connections around the league to help assemble a strong coaching staff.

I'm not excited about the hire per se but I'm not really disappointed by it either. I'll sit back and watch how things unfold.

This hire has Haslam's fingerprints all over it. Not a real vote of confidence from Haslam towards Berry.

I get that but can you tell me what team owner in the NFL doesn't have the final say on who the teams HC is or will be?

Cool. Another coach that does not know how to run the ball with a Pro Bowl running back in critical situations.

Okay now we know. Let's give him our support and wish TM the best.

Maybe he will actually be able to run an offense and not have a dolt like Kitchens overriding him. Of course, there’s always the GM and owner to do that. Hopefully, there’s enough of a rapport between himself and Schwartz to allow JS to stay…

So underwhelming... 🤮

Guess we just gotta hope.

There were reports that Schwartz told them no and he was upset that they waited three weeks and interviewed other candidates.

Also heard Scheelhaase told them no

Schwartz may ask to get out of his contract or traded to Pittsburgh as there DC.

If Schwartz stays isn't that what you have been claiming is all the Browns need form the very beginning? And how would the hire of Scheelhaase have really have been any more than that?

The only real difference is that Scheelhaase has ZERO experience even being an OC and he is younger.

This was my least favorite option of the 3. To that end, I think it's really weird that Haslam (much less Berry) is on board with bringing anyone even remotely associated with the Freddie debacle.

That said, a buddy of mine actually had a positive angle.... I guess Monken has a brother who is also a football coach at Army and is credited with helping to turn that program around. Comes from a family of teachers... blah blah blah. Maybe he's the "culture guy" we've been searching for the whole time.


Needless to say, I'm skeptical. I'm also watching for any sort of move from Schwartz to get out.

Congratulations on grabbing the short straw Monken.

This is where I'm at with it. I'm not in the room and I really have no idea. The young guy scared me a bit for reasons I've already articulated but I was open to it. Again, I don't really know. Schwartz seemed like the logical choice but he has his own red flags, also would have been open to it. I don't know Monken at all except what I've read and that's a game of telephone. For better or worse, we need someone with a vision for Shadeur and I'm guessing Monken was able to put together a coherent plan in front of Berry and Haslam. Let's hope anyway.

The truth is, we shouldn't have fired Ski this year. And with Berry still in house, whoever comes on board runs the very real risk of being one and done, swept out with Berry in the next cycle. In fact, my thinking recently has been that next year very well might be a mulligan year. Which is why we should have kept Ski. We'll likely be treading water at QB again and with a rebuilt OL and a few young WR's, we'll end up in the 6-11 to 9-8 territory, looking at a freed up cap in 2027 with DW off the books and (G-d I hope we swing a draft deal) two 1st round picks in a deeper QB draft. If Berry has another home run draft, which one is rare even for good GMs, two in a row is statistically very improbable, then maybe he sticks. But we'll probably get 2-4 starters and 2-4 backups and a few practice squad guys as is a more typical draft. Which won't be enough to greatly change our trajectory with out an answer at QB. And does Haslam sit tight if we're 5-12? So this all may be very temporary.

All that to say, I'm not going to get wound up about what I perceive as the right or wrong choice on this. We already made a critical wrong choice. I just we set up for the next cycle and not become satisfied with muddling along.

J/c:

Now I'm interested to see who the coordinators will be.....

I give him credit for just wanting to step into this mess especially after being here once before! Did something notable change or is he thinking at 60 it’s his one and only shot?

This is, by far, the most underwhelming hire possible. I read the headline and spit out so many "you've got to be f%$^&ing kidding me"s that my wife was in a bit of a panic. 🤣

This "process" has once again become a soap opera that ended in us trying to mitigate damage rather than swing for the fences. I guarantee much of the discussion near the end became the Monken hire preventing Schwartz from going to Pittsburgh. Gar-un-teed.

Not surprising.

And he's leaving anyway.

Honestly, if you could turn back the clock and draw up the worst-case scenario when considering firing Stefanski, we're watching it right now.

Give your wife a kiss and a hug, you will need her late September/October when things get ugly.

It’s really hard to understand the Browns thought process in this rodeo (if there were a process…) …

If that report is true "Ya got trouble, my friend, right here. I say, trouble right here in River City".

People wondered if they had a plan when they fired Stefanski to which the answer is now obvious.

"Plan? We don't need no stinking plan!"

Just thinking out loud, maybe Todd can get Snoop Huntley in here for a real QB competition?

Maybe the Browns offense now will actually be able to score
More than 20 pts a game and be a threat vertically
Stefanski was so in love with the horizontal passing schemes

Losing Schwartz would be bad. Not unsurmountable, but given his success and how he had the D playing and the players believing in themselves... Hard to replace.

we waited a long time for this underwhelming choice..

What's worse, we may lose Schwartz

I gotta call BS on this or the report about Haslam insisting Schwartz be retained.


Either Haslam was forcing HC candidates to retain Schwartz, or he made a hire that was clear would make Schwartz walk. It can't be both.

Pro Bowl QB vs Pro Bowl QB.

I'll take the attitude I always take and say let's see how things work out with Monken. However, I don't like hearing about the situation with JS. I was hoping things would work out and he would stay. Things could work out or maybe we shot ourselves in the foot, again.

OR

Pro Bowl QB vs Pro Bowl QB vs Pro Bowl QB (if we're counting Watson)

I'm not sure I could be more underwhelmed at this hire.

Schwartz leaving now would be the funniest thing this year, however.

Looking back at the 2019 season (and I know, he didn't call the plays) we were 22nd in both yardage and scoring.

And I forgot about the tidbit where Monken was telling opposing coaches we sucked before the games...


Nothing like greeting the opposition every Sunday with tales of your own team's dysfunction.

You're making the assumption the owner isn't stupid.

You forgot to mention the lack of any resemblance of discipline.

The Parade of Disaster continues....
The Parade of Disaster continues.