Todd Monken Will Join Kirby Smart's Staff at Georgia
Kirby Smart has been on the search for another yet another assistant coach the last several weeks after the departure of Special Teams Coordinator Scott Fountain to Arkansas. Unlike the hire of Matt Luke in under 48 hours, Smart took his time with this one and played his cards close to the vest in the process.
Today we learned that former Browns Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken will be joining the staff in Athens. Monken has spent the last three seasons in the NFL after a Head Coaching run at Southern Miss.
Monken did not have play-calling duties in Cleveland, an offense that ranked 22nd in total offense and points per game this season. Though, Monken's history otherwise has shown an ability to put up points. His offenses in Tampa never fell bellow 16th in passing during his time, and in 2018 with a combination of Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jameis Winston at the helm, the Bucs lead the NFL in passing yards per game.
Due to the other offers that Monken had on the table and his coaching history, we were under the impression that Monken's arrival in Athens would be solely dependent upon whether or not play-calling duties were on the table. We also were under the impression that James Coley would remain the play-caller for the Dawgs offense in 2020, especially with the addition of Wake Forest graduate transfer Jamie Newman.
The world of college and pro football coaches is one of constant and rapid change. With this latest development and the fact that Todd Monken had several Power-5 programs after him to be their outright Offensive Coordinator, one would assume that Coley's position as sole offensive coordinator is now upon shaky ground.
Update:
ESPN's Mark Schlabach is now reporting that Monken is indeed going to take the Offensive Coordinator role for Georgia.
Monken becomes yet another offensive staff member with head coaching experience. He spent three seasons as the head coach at Southern Miss, and took an (0-12) program to (9-5) before his departure in 2015.
