Todd Monken spoke to FOX Sports about why he feels the Cleveland Browns are the right team for his first head coaching opportunity.
Todd Monken is 60 years old. He's the fourth man to ever get his first NFL head coaching job in his 60s.
It's hard to imagine anyone thinking the Cleveland Browns are the best organization for someone to get their first head coaching opportunity with, but Monken does.
"I think it’s the right time to be the head coach of the Cleveland Browns," Monken told FOX Sports. "I’m 100% convinced of that. I do believe, as much as I swear, that God puts you in the right place for when you’re ready. And the things you go through prepare you for what the next step is. You just don’t know what it is or when it’s going to happen.
"I’m blessed to have this one and I’m never going to take that for granted. That’s what I told them when I took the job. I’ll never take it for granted. It’s fourth-and-1 every day. Let’s go."
The Browns play the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans, New Orleans Saints, Houston Texans, Las Vegas Raiders, Cincinnati Bengals, Atlanta Falcons, New York Giants and Indianapolis Colts this season. Monken is starting Deshaun Watson at QB in Week 1.
Cleveland hired Monken, who was the Baltimore Ravens' OC. Monken thought he would be an OC his entire NFL career after interviewing for head coaching jobs in 2024 and 2025 and not getting hired.
"I didn’t wonder. I didn’t think it was going to happen," Monken said. "You get to a point to where it would’ve been fine. Being an offensive coordinator in the NFL, I had already been a head coach [in college]. If that’s where it ends, cool. Pretty damn good job, right? Awesome. But it was going to take the right opportunity."
Most people who cover the NFL expect the Browns to really struggle in 2026. However, that may not be such a bad thing.
After all, Arch Manning and Dante Moore will entire the 2027 NFL Draft.
Of the 50 quarterbacks with at least 15 starts since Watson joined the Browns in 2022, only Will Levis has a lower QBR. The odds of Watson turning back the clock after an Achilles tear are pretty low, which is why many NFL pundits believe Cleveland should have started Shedeur Sanders so the team could fully evaluate him for an entire season.
