Todd Monken isn’t running from the past. In fact, he’s facing it head-on - especially when it comes to the Baltimore Ravens’ crushing 17-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2023 AFC Championship Game.
That game, and the decisions made within it, have stuck with Monken. And rather than sidestep responsibility, he’s owning it.
“I wish I would have called it better. I wish I would have had a better plan.
I wish I would have trusted the run game better,” Monken said recently. “That’ll be one I’ll have to live with forever.”
That honesty is striking. In a league where coaches often deflect or lean on vague coach-speak, Monken has been unusually direct about what went wrong. And it starts with abandoning what the Ravens had built their identity around: the run game.
In that AFC title game, Baltimore - a team that had bulldozed opponents on the ground all season - ran the ball just 10 times by design. That’s the second-fewest rushing attempts in John Harbaugh’s 16-year tenure with the team.
And it came against a Chiefs defense that was middle of the pack against the run during the regular season. The Ravens had a clear mismatch on paper, but never leaned into it.
That decision, Monken admits, was his. And it’s become a defining moment in his coaching journey - not as a source of regret, but as a lesson he says he’ll carry forward.
“I don’t let it haunt me,” Monken said. “I just won’t ever forget it.”
That kind of self-awareness is part of what led the Cleveland Browns to tap Monken as their new head coach, following a disappointing 5-12 campaign that cost Kevin Stefanski his job. For a franchise that’s cycled through 11 full-time head coaches since returning to the league in 1999, Cleveland is betting that Monken’s accountability and offensive pedigree can bring stability - and results.
But Monken’s reflection isn’t limited to one January afternoon in Kansas City. He’s been open about Baltimore’s broader struggles in 2025, when the Ravens stumbled to an 8-9 finish and missed the playoffs. After fielding one of the league’s most explosive offenses the year before, Baltimore regressed sharply, falling to 16th in offensive efficiency despite returning most of its key pieces.
And Monken isn’t pointing fingers. He’s looking in the mirror.
“I didn’t coach Lamar well enough,” he said, acknowledging that the connection between play-caller and quarterback wasn’t where it needed to be.
That’s not a small thing. In 2024, Lamar Jackson had delivered arguably the best season of his career - 41 touchdown passes to just four interceptions - while leading the most efficient offense in franchise history.
But in 2025, injuries derailed that momentum. Jackson missed four full games and left two others early, battling a laundry list of ailments: hamstring, back, knee, ankle, toe.
Still, Monken refused to use health as an excuse.
“Injuries happen,” he said. “You have to adapt. That’s part of the job.”
Now, Monken gets a fresh start in Cleveland - but he’s not coming in blind. He was the Browns’ offensive coordinator back in 2019, and he returns with a clear identity: a run-first approach that’s yielded results. From 2023 to 2025, his Ravens offenses led the NFL in rushing yards per game (166.9), yards per carry (5.3), and ranked third in rushing touchdowns (70), per ESPN Research.
That kind of production is exactly what Cleveland is hoping to tap into. The Browns have long struggled to find consistency on offense, and Monken’s track record - paired with his no-nonsense accountability - offers a new direction.
Ownership pointed to his communication skills, attention to detail, and focus on player development as key factors in the hire. And for Monken, this opportunity isn’t just about redemption. It’s about applying the hard-earned lessons from Baltimore - the wins, the losses, and the calls he’d take back if he could.
Because for all the pain of that AFC title game, Monken isn’t letting it define him. He’s using it to fuel the next chapter.