Browns hire Todd Monken as head coach: Pros, cons of Cleveland’s bold move

The Cleveland Browns’ coaching search is finally over. The team is hiring former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken as its new head coach, per CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones.

Monken, who will turn 60 on Feb. 5, worked as John Harbaugh’s play-caller in Baltimore from 2023 to 2025, and he’ll return to Cleveland after serving as the Browns’ offensive coordinator in 2019. Monken will become the eighth non-interim head coach in NFL history to coach his first game at age 60 or older, per CBS Sports Research. He’ll join Bud Wilkinson (1978), Rod Rust (1990), Dick MacPherson (1991), Dick LeBeau (2000), Bruce Arians (2013), Vic Fangio (2019) and David Culley (2021).

Monken takes over in Cleveland after three candidates — Mike McDaniel, Jesse Minter and Grant Udinski — pulled out of contention for the Browns’ opening. He reportedly had an opportunity to become the New York Giants’ offensive coordinator under Harbaugh, but he’ll instead be the latest new AFC North head coach, joining Mike McCarthy (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Jesse Minter (Baltimore Ravens).

So what are the pros and cons of hiring the former two-time national championship-winning offensive coordinator at Georgia and Harbaugh’s most recent OC in Baltimore? Let’s dig into the move with two pros and cons.

📈 Helped Lamar Jackson reach another level

The Browns have the most intriguing quarterback room in football, with Deshaun Watson and newly minted Pro Bowler Shedeur Sanders, the fifth-round pick and Deion’s son who just finished his rookie season.

Watson has just one year left on his five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million contract, and his Cleveland tenure has been a disaster. He has played only 19 games in four seasons since the Browns traded three first-round picks for him, and he has registered zero 300-yard passing games with the franchise. His 2023 season ended abruptly due to a shoulder injury, and he tore his Achilles in Week 7 of the 2024 season — then suffered a setback during the rehab process.

Sanders, meanwhile, threw more interceptions (10) than touchdowns (seven), and his 56.6% completion rate ranked as the second-worst in the league from his debut in Week 11 through the end of the season. He also developed a habit of holding the ball too long, often creating his own pressure. Sanders’ average time to throw of 3.4 seconds was the longest in the NFL from Weeks 11-18, which helps explain why he was the league’s most pressured quarterback, facing a 51% pressure rate despite being blitzed at the seventh-lowest rate (24%).

Monken might be the coach who can coax closer to league-average play out of Sanders. Jackson earned 2023 NFL MVP honors in his first season with Monken and arguably should have won again in 2024. That year, Jackson became the first player in NFL history to hit the following benchmarks:

• First QB with 4,000-plus passing yards and 800-plus rushing yards
• First QB with 40-plus passing touchdowns and 600-plus rushing yards
• First QB with 40-plus passing touchdowns and fewer than five interceptions

Sanders likely won’t reach a level even close to that, but either he — or the next quarterback Cleveland drafts — could develop nicely under Monken.

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📉 Forgot Derrick Henry was his RB at times this season

Ravens five-time Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry had another monster season in 2025. He finished as the league’s second-leading rusher with 1,595 yards, and he has now produced 1,500-plus rushing yards, 5-plus yards per carry and 15-plus rushing touchdowns in both of his seasons with Baltimore.

However, there were times Monken seemed to forget he had one of the best running backs of this generation at his disposal. After Henry scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to put the Ravens up 24-13 over the New England Patriots in Week 16, Monken didn’t dial up a single touch for him the rest of the game. Baltimore ended up losing 28-24.

Henry had five games with fewer than 15 carries, which is a red flag. The Ravens missed the playoffs by one game, and Henry’s inconsistent usage contributed to their failure to win the 2025 AFC North title.

Cleveland will be hoping Monken can maximize second-year running back Quinshon Judkins, whose 827 rushing yards were the sixth-most by a rookie in Browns history.

📈 Gained valuable leadership experience under Harbaugh

Monken went 13-25 in three seasons as a college head coach at Southern Miss from 2013 to 2015, which isn’t exactly inspiring. It’s worth noting, though, that he went 9-5 in his final season.

After spending the past three years with the Ravens as John Harbaugh’s offensive coordinator, perhaps he has a new approach to leadership as a head coach. And there aren’t many better “leaders of men” in the NFL than the former Super Bowl champion, who is now the head coach of the Giants.

📉 Faces a shaky historical precedent

Of the seven previous non-interim, first-time NFL head coaches who were hired at age 60 or older, only one lasted longer than three seasons: Bruce Arians with the Arizona Cardinals and later the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The other six lasted one, two or three seasons at most.

By historical precedent, Monken’s hire could have a short-term shelf life, meaning Cleveland might be conducting another coaching search sooner rather than later.