New Browns Coach Todd Monken's Comments on Myles Garrett Should Make Fans Happy

Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken is excited that he no longer has to game plan for defensive star Myles Garrett.

After spending three years with the Baltimore Ravens as the offensive coordinator, Monken had to plan for Garrett twice a year, and he admitted he never found the secret sauce to stopping him. Monken met Garrett in 2019 when the head coach was the offensive coordinator for the Browns under Freddie Kitchens.

Monken spoke with reporters about his thoughts on Garrett and what he brings to the table for the Browns defense.

“Well, when I was here for that short period, I would say that I didn’t know Myles very well, other than I loved his personality, I loved his charisma. I mean, always a smile on his face. At that time I thought, ‘holy cow, this guy runs like a wideout, this guy looks like a skill player.’ I mean, this guy is elite, and he’s always had it in him," Monken said.

"But you can just see the last few years that his evolution, in terms of blocking schemes, how teams try to prevent him from getting to the quarterback, which opens up opportunities for others. I think his awareness of what teams are trying to do…I think they’ve done a great job of moving him around because that’s important. That definitely gets into a coordinator’s head in game planning of where he’s located. You can see with every team that plays against Myles.”

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett walks on to the field after a timeout in the first quarter. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Monken Sees Advantage Garrett Brings For Browns

Garrett is coming off the best season of his career and possibly out of any defender in NFL history. Garrett recorded 60 tackles and logged 23.5 sacks, which is the most out of any player in a single season in NFL history. He had 33 tackles for loss, which also led the league.

Monken knows that the Browns defense is not as strong as it could be without Garrett, so he recognizes the importance that he brings to the unit. As an AFC North offensive coordinator, game planning against Garrett and the Browns defense over the years gives him some good insight into how strong the unit can be when everyone is healthy.

The experience under his belt should mean that Monken knows which buttons to push as the Browns look to dig themselves out of last place in the division in the upcoming season.