First-year Cleveland Browns coach Todd Monken appears to be a natural fit for a franchise with three playoff berths over the last quarter century.
Monken was scheduled to take a photo with all 32 NFL head coaches at the ongoing league meetings in Phoenix, so the 60-year-old decided to get a new haircut before the annual picture was taken.
Exiting a midday coaches’ meeting, Monken stepped out for a trim only to realize his mistake shortly thereafter.
As revealed by Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot, Monken returned from the haircut and crossed paths with Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Cohen, who informed him the annual photo had already been taken. Cabot further reported that the day’s agenda had the photo’s scheduled time correctly listed as noon Pacific.
Monken later joked to reporters that he now has motivation to reach a second season with the Browns so he can finally make a first appearance in the annual coaches picture.
But Monken wasn’t the only missing coach. As many fans noticed online, Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay was also missing in action, although his absence has yet to be explained.
Monken was scheduled to take a photo with all 32 NFL head coaches at the ongoing league meetings in Phoenix, so the 60-year-old decided to get a new haircut before the annual shot
In total, 30 of the NFL’s 32 head coaches had their photo taken in Phoenix on Monday
Monken is entering a difficult situation in Cleveland, where Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson and Dillon Gabriel are expected to compete for the starting quarterback position. On Tuesday, Monken said he wouldn’t necessarily be giving all three equal snap counts at next month’s offseason workouts in Berea, Ohio.
“I wouldn’t say they’re going to be evenly dispersed, but we’ll definitely disperse them to give ourselves a chance to at least evaluate who we have on the roster, whoever that might be as we go through the offseason,” Monken said.
As far as starting reps, Monken did not tip his hand.
“You’d love to be able to come out of the spring with a depth chart,” Monken said. “That doesn’t mean there’s still not competition. But I do think you have to narrow the reps or at least balance up the reps of who you anticipate has come out of the spring certainly in a position to be a starter.”
As previously reported by Cleveland.com, Monken has interest in Watson, whose career has been derailed by sexual misconduct allegations, erratic play and injuries.
Watson has now settled 27 lawsuits with women who accused him of inappropriate behavior during massages. He’s also returning from not one, but two ruptured Achilles tendons.
Although Watson has not played a full season since 2020, Cabot previously reported the former Clemson and Houston Texans star did look good when he began practicing in December.
Quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson watch from the sidelines during the fourth quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field on September 7
Watson is just 9-10 as a starter with the Browns and has been sacked nearly 12 percent of his dropbacks with Cleveland.
As for Sanders, he had an up-and-down rookie season in Cleveland.
After initially tumbling from a projected first-round pick to the fifth during the 2025 NFL Draft, Sanders got some public support from President Donald Trump and later made seven starts, going 3-4 along the way.
Sanders became an unlikely Pro Bowl selection as a rookie despite throwing 10 interceptions compared to just seven touchdowns.
The Browns defense ranked fourth in yards allowed last season, but the offense was worse than all but one NFL team. So it won’t be a huge surprise to see an overhaul on offense with Monken coming over from Baltimore, where he served as offensive coordinator.