The Browns hired Todd Monken for his schematic versatility
Yahoo Sports host Andrew Siciliano and senior NFL reporter Jori Epstein discuss what the Cleveland Browns were looking for when they hired Todd Monken as head coach. Check out the full conversation on "Inside Coverage" - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , YouTube or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
So let's get to the coaching.
Of those 10 vacancies- Yeah -and now eight have been filled, Monken being the most recent here.
We had a Joe Brady, a Jesse Minter press conference earlier today.
What has been the scuttlebutt?
What are people saying?
Yeah, I was really intrigued by Todd Monken because I, I think it's so easy when there's a coaching search that people don't find- feel like it's the new, fresh, up-and-coming search- Right ... to just say like, "They settled," or, "That's not what they should have done," or, "They had the, what was left."
And, and I think that's kind of a lazy argument.
Like, clearly Todd Monken's been a coach in the NFL and the, in college ranks for a long time.
I mean, what is it?
Like, 26 years in college and 11 at the NFL- Right ... level.
And so I was talking to people, one of whom I talked to yesterday here, had interviewed Todd Monken for, for a job in, in recent years.
And so I was saying, "Well, what did you see from Todd Monken?"
And what stuck out then as, as well as when I was talking to people after John Harbaugh got the Giants job is, Todd Monken's very versatile schematically- Mm-hmm ... and that appeals to people, including the Browns.
And I thought it was notable in Andrew Berry's statement yesterday that he talked about Todd being the coach for this stage of the Browns team-building life cycle.
Look, no one wants to use the word rebuild, but there is some rebuild, there's some retooling going on in Cleveland.
And so if you say, "Hey, I know I have this quarterback that I want to fit this scheme," and, "Hey, he's great for the Shanahan/McVay system," or, "Hey, Mike McCarthy's West Coast offense is what I believe in," that's great, but Todd Monken has showed at the college and NFL levels that his offense is not going to look the same.
Now, look, his 2024 number one offense, not gonna be able to take Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry with him to Cleveland.
Right.
But I think the fact that he had certain principles last time he was in Cleveland that did not stay the same when he went to Georgia under Kirby Smart, and then to Baltimore, shows that this is a guy who people do expect people to adapt.
Now, the personality element I think will be interesting- ... 'cause he's tough, he's exacting, he's demanding.
I mean, that led to some definite tension with him and Lamar Jackson in Baltimore this past year.
And so when I talk to people, they say schematically they like him.
He's balanced with the run and pass.
he marries it well.
The question will more just be: one, in order to run a lot of his schemes, you want a functional offensive line, and I mean, Andrew Berry's made very clear that's something they need to work on in Cleveland this off-season.
And then on top of that, how do the personalities mesh?
But I think schematically the Browns are getting a good one.
