When news broke that the Cleveland Browns were hiring ex-Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken as their new head coach, it created more questions than answers in Ohio.
Will Jim Schwartz return as defensive coordinator? How will the Browns fill out the rest of their coaching staff? And what would a Monken offense even look like in Cleveland?
While much of that still needs to be determined, on ESPN’s NFL Live, one-time Browns wide receiver Andrew Hawkins broke down what Munkin brings to the table in Cleveland, which should allow fans to breathe a sigh of relief.
“Yeah, I think it fits for what they’re doing now. I think Munkin’s a good coach, right? Like, I think even with his offense, and you saw with Lamar, you’ve seen it at his height when Lamar was an MVP, and they had one of the top offenses. You’ve seen it sputter a little bit after Lamar got hurt and, you know, some of the back-channel issues,” Hawkins noted.
“But the thing about Munkin is he has familiarity with the organization, with an office of coordinator there. And I think for what he does offensively and what the Browns have done traditionally is they’re making the personnel decisions. They’re hopeful that they can have a defensive coordinator like Schwartz stick around. I guess that remains to be seen. But if you know that’s taken care of, personnel is taken care of. We need a head coach who can command a room, has been coaching in the NFL for a long time. And then three words, development of offense, elevation of offense, and stability of offense. And that puts them closer than where they were previously if they can do those things.”
Widely expected to reunite with John Harbaugh in New York as the Giants’ offensive coordinator, the Browns were able to secure his services and bring a different offensive voice to the room after things ran their course with Kevin Stefanski. Will it work? Only time will tell, but after missing out on some of the top candidates during the draft cycle, fans will get to see if Monkins can put things over the top.
What will Todd Monken bring to the table as head coach in Cleveland? 🤔@Hawk and @danorlovsky7 weigh in ⤵️🏈 pic.twitter.com/G6av8PH9vx
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) January 28, 2026
