The Cleveland Browns are rolling, hitting Sunday’s matchup against the New York Jets with a genuinely competitive 3-1 record that nobody, I mean nobody, saw coming. This isn’t some fluke start; it feels earned. And at the center of it all? Head coach Todd Monken, a 60-year-old veteran who just took his first NFL head coaching gig this past winter and is proving age is just a number when you’ve got experience like his.
“Better Today Than I Was Then”
Since his hiring this past winter, Monken’s been open about something real: he wouldn’t have been his best self as an NFL head coach 15 years ago. Think about that for a second. How many people are honest enough to admit that? When Spencer German from 92.3 The Fan pressed him on why *now* is the right time, Monken leaned right into the power of time and growth. He said, “It didn’t feel like that 15 years ago. It’s easy to say that now, but I think we all would say that. I’m not the only one that would feel that way. I take anybody that’s a little bit older, and you would look back at the things you did then and what you thought you knew and how you handled things. And God puts you in certain places for a reason, to learn, and not put you in other places … But you’re certainly in a much better place, I am, than I was years ago. Even last year, five months ago, I’m better today than I was then.” That’s the kind of wisdom you only get from the grind, right?
The Grind That Forged A Head Coach
Monken’s 60 years old in a league obsessed with the next young prodigy. But his journey? Few can touch it. This isn’t some overnight success story. We’re talking about a guy who coordinated explosive offenses at Oklahoma State back in 2011 and 2012. Then he jumped to Southern Miss, took a program that was literally winless and, by 2015, had them as a 9-5 bowl contender. That’s a serious turnaround. After that, he was refining his craft in the NFL with Tampa Bay and Cleveland before heading back to college. He orchestrated back-to-back National Championship offenses at Georgia from 2020 to 2022. And just before the Browns called, he was the Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator from 2023 to 2025, guiding Lamar Jackson to an MVP award and leading the league’s top-ranked offense in 2024. When the Browns brought him back in January for his first NFL head coaching gig, they didn’t just get a coordinator with a proven system. They landed a coach whose decades on the sideline built the exact perspective, maturity, and leadership needed to keep a team winning.
The Browns carry some serious momentum into their game against the Jets this Sunday. What Monken’s doing with this team, after all those years building up to this moment, is something special. You gotta wonder if this 3-1 start is just the beginning for a coach who waited for the perfect time to make his mark.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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