Just a few weeks after his head coach was fired over his failings as an offensive coordinator, Todd Monken is getting the greatest opportunity of his coaching career.
Monken, the Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator, was hired as head coach of the Cleveland Browns on Wednesday.
“The Browns are hiring former Ravens OC Todd Monken as their new head coach,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport wrote on X. “After an exhaustive search, Cleveland lands on Monken, who previously worked with MVP Lamar Jackson. Todd Monken has extensive experience tutoring QBs and designing offenses, and that was as important as anything. The Browns have a new head coach.”
Super Bowl-winning Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was fired on January 6 after 18 seasons. One of the major sticking points ended up being Harbaugh refused to fire Monken, who has been Baltimore’s offensive coordinator since 2023.
The Raven entered the 2025 season with Super Bowl expectations but started the season 1-5. They finished 8-9 and missed the playoffs.
Harbaugh was hired as the head coach of the New York Giants and Monken was projected to be his offensive coordinator before news of the Browns hiring him broke.
Monken, 59 years old, previously worked for the Browns in 2019, when he spent one season as their offensive coordinator.
“Isn’t this the same offensive coordinator who forgot, on numerous occasions, to get Derrick Henry the ball?” ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith asked on First Take on Wednesday. “You’ve got to be kidding me. He’s the head coach?”
Monken Drove Wedge Between Jackson & Harbaugh
There are only 2 head coach openings left after Monken was hired by the Browns with the Las Vegas Raiders and Arizona Cardinals still without head coaches.
Monken was at the heart of the issues that led to the Ravens firing Harbaugh after 13 playoff appearances and one Super Bowl win after he seemed to drive a wedge between Harbaugh and Jackson, a 2-time NFL MVP.
According to a report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Jamison Hensley, the relationship between Monken and Jackson soured in 2025 after 2 successful seasons, including Jackson winning NFL MVP honors in 2023.
When Harbaugh met with Ravens ownership after his team was eliminated from the playoffs with a Week 18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, he reportedly balked at being told to fire Monken in order to keep his own job.
“Despite great success in together in 2023 and 2024, Jackson and Monken had chemistry issues this past season, according to team sources,” Fowler and Hensley wrote. “Monken’s hard-driving coaching style didn’t mesh with Jackson, one source said.”
Monken Has Nightmare Scenario Waiting
No team in the NFL had a more complicated situation at quarterback in 2025 than the Browns, who still have one of the highest paid quarterbacks on the NFL in the roster in Deshaun Watson and drafted 2 quarterbacks in 2025 with Dillon Gabriel in the third round and Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round.
The Browns started 3 quarterbacks in 2025 with Sanders, Gabriel and Joe Flacco, with Sanders seeming to get the lead for becoming the starter again in 2026 after he started 7 games and ended up on the Pro Bowl roster.
Watson, who comes with a mind-boggling $80.7 million salary cap hit in 2026, has only played 19 out of a possible 68 regular-season games for the Browns since signing a 5-year, $230 million contract extension before the 2022 season. That includes an 11-game suspension in 2022 and missing the entire 2025 season as he recovered from a torn Achilles tendon.
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