Reports: Browns hiring Todd Monken as head coach

The Cleveland Browns will name Todd Monken as their next head coach, multiple outlets reported Wednesday.

Monken spent the past three seasons as the offensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens, where he worked with former NFL MVP Lamar Jackson, but has experience with the Browns franchise. In 2019, he was the offensive coordinator when Cleveland finished 6-10, resulting in the firing of head coach Freddie Kitchens and his staff.

Monken turns 60 on Feb. 5.

This is the first NFL head coaching job for Monken, who held the same position at Southern Miss (2013-15). The team was 13-25 under Monken, who led the Golden Eagles to a 9-5 record and a bowl game in his final season.

Monken has spent the latter half of his career zigzagging from college to the NFL and back again. Before taking the job at Southern Miss, he spent 15 seasons as an assistant coach on the offensive side of the ball in college, then took his first NFL job coaching wide receivers for the Jacksonville Jaguars (2007-10).

He left Southern Miss to become the offensive coordinator with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2016-17) and subsequently held the same job with the Browns, the University of Georgia (2020-22) and the Ravens.

The Browns interviewed nine candidates to find a replacement for Kevin Stefanski, who was fired earlier this month after a 5-12 season. The Browns finished above .500 in two of his six seasons. The Atlanta Falcons subsequently hired Stefanski for their head coach opening.

Among the candidates, five were interviewed a second time: Monken, Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, Los Angeles Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski and Washington Commanders run game coordinator Anthony Lynn.