Georgia Tech Football Head Coaching Candidate Profile: Todd Monken
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After writing profiles for Deion Sanders, Jamey Chadwell, Bill O'Brien, Dan Mullen, Dell McGee, and Matt Rhule, it is time for a new installation in this series.
Georgia Tech is 2-0 under interim head coach Brent Key and while he is off to a good start, there is still a long way to go in determining if he is the long-term solution. Key still has six games remaining to see if he can coach his way to becoming the full-time head coach at Georgia Tech.
Until he does that, there is going to be plenty of speculation about potential targets for the Yellow Jackets in their coaching search. The next one that we are going to talk about is another Georgia Bulldogs assistant coach and a former college head coach and NFL offensive coordinator.
Todd Monken is a highly regarded play-caller at both the collegiate and NFL level
Todd Monken is currently the offensive coordinator at Georgia and what he has done with the Bulldog's offense in his time there has been fun to watch. UGA currently has the fifth-ranked offense according to SP+ and his ability to craft an offense around former walk-on Stetson Bennett is one of the reasons that Georgia looks like a national championship contender again. Bennett has had his struggles at UGA, but Monken has done a great job of coaching him up and developing him.
Monken got his coaching start as a grad assistant at both Grand Valley State (1989-1990) and then Notre Dame (1991-1992). He would move up to a position coach at Eastern Michigan, coaching wide receivers and defensive backs from 1993-1997 and then as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 1998-1999. He would move on to Louisiana Tech and stay there briefly from 2000-2001 before landing his first power five job at Oklahoma State.
Is Todd Monken ready to be a head coach at the collegiate level again?
Monken was the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach at Oklahoma State for then-head coach Les Miles. Monken was there from 2002-2004 and then when Miles took the LSU head coaching job in 2005, he brought Monken with him to hold the same positions from 2005-2006, however, Monken would be bound for his first NFL job after that.
Monken got his first NFL job as the wide receivers coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars and was there from 2007-2010 before returning to Oklahoma State as the offensive coordinator from 2011-2012. The Cowboys had one of the nation's best offenses with quarterback Brandon Weeden and wide receiver Justin Blackmon and nearly made the national championship game. He would get his first and only head coaching job up to this point.
Monken got the head coaching position at Southern Miss in 2013 and was taking over a program that went 0-12 before his arrival. He went 1-11 and 3-9 in his first two seasons but broke through with a 9-5 campaign in 2015, It looked like Monken was building something special at Southern Miss, but just days before the Golden Eagles were set to sign its 2016 recruiting class, Monken announced that he was accepting the offensive coordinator position with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Todd Monken has been a successful quarterback coach and developer everywhere he has been
He was with Tampa Bay as the play-caller from 2016-2018 and in his last season with the team, the Bucs lead the league in passing offense and were third in total offense. After his stint in Tampa Bay, Monken would spend one season with the Cleveland Browns as the offensive coordinator before heading to Athens.
So the question is: Should Georgia Tech hire Todd Monken?
This would not be my first choice, but I don't think it is a bad one necessarily. I think that Monken has proven at both the college and NFL level that he can be a successful play caller and adapt to his personnel instead of trying to force guys into his system. That is an important feature in a head coach and play caller and I think it is one of the best attributes that Monken has.
A big concern that I would have about Monken is the recruiting. Recruiting is a challenge at Georgia Tech and there is no evidence that Monken could make that a plus. He could makes sure he fills out his staff with good recruiters, but it is an area I would have concern about. I don't know his level of recruiting responsibilities at Georgia and recruiting for Georgia Tech is a whole different animal
Even if Georgia Tech wants Monken, would he take the job? He is reportedly the highest paid offensive coordinator in college football and taking a job that might not be a big step up in terms of pay might not be interesting to Monken. His name has been mentioned for other power five jobs like Arizona State and you can never completely rule out a return to the NFL either. He will have his options at the end of the season and could just decide to remain in Athens.
So overall: This is one of the toughest candidates to get a read on. I am not sure that he would excite the Georgia Tech fanbase and he might not even be interested in the job, but I think there are worse options. I think he is one of the best play callers in football and could bring a schematic advantage for the Yellow Jackets as well as a proven quarterbacks coach. He was starting to be successful at Southern Miss before he left for the NFL so he is not completely unproven as a program builder and head coach in college, but the sample size is too small.
Monken would be an interesting hire, but not the first guy on my list.
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