Todd Monken didn’t leave much room for interpretation after the Browns’ Week 2 win.
Cleveland had just knocked off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-19, and Monken used his postgame press conference to make sure everyone knew how he felt after a week of heat from around the NFL. He praised his team for bouncing back and then ended with a blunt shot at the critics: “Browns are gonna Browns. F*** that!”
Monken also said the Browns had taken the Week 1 criticism personally, then stepped away from the podium.
The outburst came after Cleveland’s rough opening loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars had drawn plenty of attention across the league. One of the louder comments came from former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, now an analyst for NBC. During Week 1 coverage on Football Night in America, Tomlin said, “In the words of my friend JuJu Smith-Schuster, the Browns is the Browns."
Monken was asked about that line on Monday and kept his answer measured. He said everyone is entitled to an opinion, but insisted Cleveland had to own its play from Week 1.
"Well, again, everybody’s afforded their opinions, right? That’s what you do when you go from coaching to television.
We have to own that, meaning we have to own that we didn’t play very well. I don’t see it that way, Browns being Browns.
I don’t see it that way. Every week is different; every team is different.
We just didn’t play well. That’s one week.
That’s not Browns being Browns. That’s Browns playing poorly on one week.
So again, everybody’s afforded their opinion, and the only way to change people’s opinion is to play better. That’s a fact."
Todd Monken
Tomlin didn’t let the exchange sit there. He later joked, “I’m glad I can still motivate, although I’m not coaching anymore,” and even added a “you’re welcome.”
On the field, the Browns backed up their coach. They shook off a slow offensive start and dealt with a fourth-quarter rain delay that lasted more than two hours before finishing off the Buccaneers. For Monken, the message was clear: this team is going to fight.
He made it plain that Cleveland isn’t interested in living inside outside narratives or getting trapped by its recent history. The Browns may have heard plenty after Week 1, but their first-year head coach is making sure that doesn’t become their identity.
The catch, of course, is that one win doesn’t erase anything. Monken knows the Browns have to keep stacking victories, or that postgame line will come back fast. But if this turns into the start of something bigger, the mic-drop moment from Sunday will be remembered for a long time.
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