The Cleveland Browns have found their next head coach. Former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken is set to take over in Cleveland, according to league sources cited by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Monken, who turns 60 on February 5, replaces Kevin Stefanski, who was dismissed on January 5 after six seasons with the franchise. Cleveland struggled in 2025, finishing 5–12, and has gone 8–26 since its last playoff appearance in the 2023 season.
Monken’s hiring creates a ripple effect elsewhere in the league. The New York Giants and head coach John Harbaugh are now searching for a new offensive coordinator. Many around the league believed Monken would follow Harbaugh to New York if he did not land a head coaching job.
After spending the past three seasons in Baltimore, Monken was not retained by new Ravens head coach Jesse Minter. He now becomes the Browns’ 11th full-time head coach since the team returned to the NFL in 1999. Only the Las Vegas Raiders have had more coaching turnover during that span. This will not be Monken’s first stint in Cleveland, as he previously served as the Browns’ offensive coordinator in 2019 under Freddie Kitchens.
The Browns conducted in-person interviews with five candidates during their search. That group included Monken, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski, Los Angeles Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, and Washington Commanders run game coordinator and running backs coach Anthony Lynn. Udinski later withdrew his name from consideration, according to sources.
Cleveland had also scheduled second interviews with former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel and Minter, then the Los Angeles Chargers’ defensive coordinator. Both ultimately withdrew. McDaniel accepted the Chargers’ offensive coordinator position, while Minter agreed to terms to remain with the Ravens.
Monken brings more than 30 years of coaching experience across college football and the NFL. This will be his first opportunity as an NFL head coach. He previously led Southern Miss from 2013 to 2015, compiling a 13–25 record. His standout season came in 2015, when he guided the program to a 9–5 finish, a Heart of Dallas Bowl appearance, and earned Conference USA Coach of the Year honors. After that season, Monken moved to the NFL as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator, a role he held for three years.
Before joining the Ravens, Monken enjoyed major success at the University of Georgia, where he helped engineer back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022 as offensive coordinator.
His impact in Baltimore was immediate. In his first season, quarterback Lamar Jackson won his second NFL MVP award. The following year, the Ravens finished with the No. 1 offense in the league for the first time in franchise history.
Monken’s NFL résumé also includes a three-year stint as wide receivers coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2007 to 2010.
In Cleveland, his biggest challenge will be fixing an offense that has ranked last in the NFL in scoring over the past two seasons, averaging just 15.8 points per game. Former offensive coordinator Tommy Rees followed Stefanski to the Atlanta Falcons in the same role, while wide receivers coach Chad O’Shea is joining the Kansas City Chiefs.
Browns general manager Andrew Berry, who led the coaching search, said after the season that the offense would see “significant investment” this offseason. Berry also noted that the new head coach would have input on the quarterback situation. Deshaun Watson, who missed the entire 2025 season while rehabbing a torn Achilles suffered in October 2024, is expected to remain on the roster in 2026. He would join a quarterback room that also includes rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, who started six and seven games respectively.
While the offense needs rebuilding, Monken inherits a defense that has been among the league’s best. Since Jim Schwartz arrived in 2023, Cleveland has allowed the fewest yards per game in the NFL at 298.6 and owns the league’s best third-down defense at 33.8 percent. Star defensive end Myles Garrett has thrived under Schwartz, winning Defensive Player of the Year in 2020 and emerging as the heavy favorite to win the award again next week after recording 23 sacks and breaking the single-season sack record.
Whether Schwartz remains on Monken’s staff is still unknown. Owner Jimmy Haslam has said he would “absolutely” like to keep Schwartz in the organization, though Berry emphasized that final staff decisions will belong to the new head coach.
Looking ahead, the Browns hold the sixth and 24th overall picks in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, along with 10 total selections.
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