Todd Monken, ex-Ravens offensive
coordinator, hired as the Cleveland Browns head coach
[January 29, 2026]
By JOE REEDY
CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Browns have hired one of their former
coordinators to be the team's head coach.
However, it is not the one some people expected.
The Browns hired Todd Monken on Wednesday as the franchise's 19th
full-time head coach, wrapping up a three-week search. He replaces
Kevin Stefanski, who was fired on Jan. 5, the day after Cleveland
finished a 5-12 season.
This is Monken's first NFL head coaching job after 11 years as an
assistant. He spent the previous three seasons as Baltimore's
offensive coordinator.
“He is an outstanding leader and has a clear vision to lead our team
as a strong communicator who values trust with his players but also
accountability and preparation. In our committee’s exhaustive
reference work on Todd, his commitment to player development was
evident, and his tough and straightforward coaching is respected by
the players and the coaches he’s worked with, putting our team in a
position to succeed while developing our players to maximize their
talents,” owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam said in a statement.
Monken was the Browns' offensive coordinator on Freddie Kitchens’
staff in 2019. There was growing sentiment, though, that defensive
coordinator Jim Schwartz had emerged as the favorite, especially as
the list of candidates thinned out.
Schwartz has been the architect of one of the league’s top defenses
the past three seasons.
Cleveland led the league in total defense in 2023 and ranked fourth
this season as Myles Garrett had 23 sacks and broke the NFL
single-season record.
Schwartz is under contract for one more season, but he is expected
to look elsewhere after being passed over.
Losing Schwartz would be another blow to the Haslams, whose tenure
since buying the Browns in 2012 has been known more for dysfunction
than building a winning organization.
Monken is the seventh coach hired by the Haslams. The previous six
compiled a 73-139-1 regular-season record, the second-worst mark in
the NFL.
The Browns were 5-12 this season and 8-26 the past two years.
Stefanski — who was hired as Atlanta’s coach — had a 46-58 record.
He was a two-time AP NFL Coach of the Year and led the Browns to the
playoffs in 2020 and ’23.
After announcing Stefanski’s firing, Jimmy Haslam bristled over the
narrative that the Browns are a dysfunctional organization. However,
the coaching search ended up having more people withdraw their names
from consideration than finalists. Cleveland interviewed 10 people
for the opening, with four — Monken, Schwartz, Grant Udinski and Los
Angeles Rams pass coordinator Nate Scheelhaase — getting second
interviews.
Udinski withdrew on Monday after a second interview to remain in
Jacksonville as offensive coordinator.
The Browns had second interviews scheduled with Mike McDaniel and
Jesse Minter before both canceled. McDaniel, who was Miami’s coach
for four seasons, will be the Los Angeles Chargers’ offensive
coordinator while Minter was hired as Baltimore’s head coach after
two seasons directing the Chargers’ defense.
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Monken, who turns 60 on Feb. 5, first interviewed
on Jan. 10 and had a second interview on Jan. 20. He also
interviewed for Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator opening and was
tied to the New York Giants offensive coordinator spot after John
Harbaugh was hired as the coach.
After Cleveland, Monken went to the University of Georgia from
2020-22 and was the offensive coordinator when the Bulldogs won the
national title in 2021 and ’22.
The Ravens were second in the league this season in
rushing yards per game (156.6 yards) and 11th in scoring, averaging
24.9 points per game. Baltimore was the league’s top-ranked offense
in 2024, when it became the first team in NFL history to have at
least 4,000 passing yards and 3,000 rushing yards in the same
season.
Monken also has worked in Jacksonville (2007-10) and Tampa Bay
(2016-17). He was the head coach at Southern Mississippi from
2011-13 and had a 13-26 record.
The biggest task for Monken will be trying to find a quarterback and
a sustainable offense.
Stefanski started a league-high 13 different quarterbacks during his
tenure, including seven over the past two seasons.
The Browns thought they had their quarterback in 2022 when they
released Baker Mayfield and acquired Deshaun Watson from Houston for
five draft picks, including three in the first round. Instead, the
trade for Watson has set the Browns back.
Watson has played in only 19 games. He has gone 9-10 as Cleveland’s
starter with 19 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and an 80.7 passer
rating. He did not play this season while rehabbing from a torn
Achilles tendon. Watson practiced for three weeks last month but was
not activated to the roster.
Jimmy Haslam said during the league meetings last March that the
Browns “took a big swing and miss” with the Watson trade and that
“we’ve got to dig ourselves out of that hole.”
Shedeur Sanders started the final seven games, going 3-4. He faced
growing pains, including a makeshift line and missing the leading
rusher and receiver for the last two games.
Whether Sanders convinced the Browns that he can start next season
will be debated in the coming months.
This season's Browns joined the 1968 Buffalo Bills as the only teams
in the Super Bowl era to have rookies lead the team in passing,
rushing and receiving yards.
Cleveland has the sixth and 24th overall selections in April’s
draft.
“Let me just say this: The next 120 days are crucial for the
organization,” Haslam said on Jan. 5. “We’ve got to find the right
head coach. We’ve got to be efficient again in free agency. We have
10 draft picks, including two No. 1s. We have four picks in the top
three rounds. And we’ve got to get really good players who are
really good people again. We’ve got to be opportunistic if trade
opportunities come along. We are solely focused on having a great
120 days so we can start winning games around here.”
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