Are the Cleveland Browns Better With Todd Monken's Staff Than the Previous Regime?

We debate whether the Browns are better or worse off with the incoming coaches led by Todd Monken.

Todd Monken, the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns, discusses how he will approach the game during his introductory press conference at the team's training facility, Feb. 3, 2026. | Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Cleveland Browns finalized the hiring of Mike Rutenberg as the club’s new defensive coordinator, effectively filling all four of the top coaching positions on staff.

Now that new head coach Todd Monken’s main assistants are signed, and with the uncertainty of Jim Schwartz’ future removed for good, it’s time to reassess.

Are the Cleveland Browns better off or worse off with the newly signed head coach Monken, offensive coordinator Travis Switzer, defensive coordinator Rutenberg, and special teams coordinator Byron Storer -- all four filling their respective positions for the first time -- than they were with Kevin Stefanski, Tommy Rees, Schwartz and Bubba Ventrone?

Our analysts weighed in:

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Yes. Monken, Switzer, Rutenberg and Storer are far from sexy names. But sexy names don’t always translate to wins. The Stefanski-led regime has lost 10 or more games in three of the last four seasons. Alignment issues were a weekly occurrence. The special teams were anything but. Outside of Schwartz, neither Stefanski nor his assistants did enough to inspire even a glimmer of hope or consistency. It’s easy to side with the new, widely unknown guys, if only because it can’t get much worse. -- Anthony Farris

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I believe the Browns are better off with their new staff, led by Todd Monken, than they were with Kevin Stefanski's crew. On paper, many would immediately say no, mainly due to prior knowledge of Cleveland’s former staff. If you think about what Monken was able to do with Georgia and Baltimore, he said it himself that he has acquired such priceless experience since his time with Cleveland in 2019; he has grown as a coach. Fans saw Stefanski’s ceiling, and he had six years to showcase that. Monken and his new staff can provide a new, refreshing look both offensively and defensively, which is enough in itself to buy into when you look at their on-field results the last few seasons. -- Dominic Pagura

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As a whole, probably not. Had the Browns been able to retain Schwartz, maybe I would’ve answered differently, but there is no continuity going forward for the team’s best unit. Monken likely won’t get his choice of quarterback until next year, at the earliest, and by then it might be too late if he and Switzer can’t extract anything decent out of the current group of passers. There’s a real possibility that, out of the whole roster, only Storer and the special teams come out looking better than last year’s group. -- Rafael Zamorano

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