Todd Monken Can Do One Thing Better Than Younger Coaches

But let's move to Cleveland because, boy.

I, I've gone back and forth on this one too.

Uh, my initial thought was, no, well, here, here, here's my thought.

I want to take everyone through it because it's like a kaleidoscope.

All options are still on the table for me.

My initial thought was this is, especially if they don't keep Jim Schwartz after all of this, even though that was such a part of the effort is that.

This is just another way of the Browns losing games to get more draft capital, to build back up for this tomorrow that will never come .

That was my first thought.

Then I saw that Monken's deal is for 5 years.

That's a lot of money to eat, if you're Cleveland, and you're only planning to like rent him a la David Cully.

And then my third thought was, Let's say they made this hire last year.

I would be, I would be on the tabletop for it, pounding the table, because I think that Todd Monken's a really, really good play caller.

Do I think he's gonna mesh well with Shado Sanders?

No.

But, um, but I think he's, I can't wait.

I can't wait for the first , like something that happens on social media with Shaddo that he's got an answer for at the podium.

I mean, Todd, Todd is, I think he gets, he's a salty dog.

He's an old salty dog, you know, but like, so was Bruce Arians and maybe Bruce had a little bit more of a personality, but like, I, I, especially if you could keep Jim Schwartz.

See, that's the tricky part, and that's the tricky part.

So you, you, you pick up the baton here and tell me how likely or unlikely that's gonna be.

Yeah, I mean, so Jim Schwartz has been telling people for a few weeks now like that.

If I'm staying in Cleveland, it's gonna be as the head coach.

He wants to be a head coach again, rightfully so.

He's done a good job as a coordinator, really everywhere he's been, you know, in Buffalo, um, Philly, um, you know, he worked for Mike Vrabel in Tennessee, um, and then, you know, as a coordinator again in Cleveland.

And, um, you know, I, I think it's understandable.

I mean, people have said like, oh yeah, like he's stomping around, like, and, and he's being a baby.

Maybe, but like I also look at it like if you are, I think he's 58, right?

If you're 58 years old and you want to be a head coach again, and you're working for an organization that like maybe doesn't see you that way, you know, then I could see where it's like, well, then maybe it's just time for all of us to move on, you know.

So I would get that and I would understand that.

Now, he's under contract, they certainly want to keep him.

I think Todd Monken's gonna do his best to sell Jim Schwartz on the idea of it.

Um, but I think like if he does come back, it's gonna have to be within the context of Jim, you come back here and we're gonna, you know, we're gonna lean into your defense and we're gonna do our best to, to sell you as a head coach.

And every time I'm over at the podium in November and December, if things are going well, I'm gonna say like, people should hire you.

Like you gotta, you gotta appeal to them, I think that way, you know.

And so, um, yes, they want to keep him 100%, they want to keep him and rightfully so, they should want to keep him.

Um, you know, but this idea that was out there that, you know, going with Todd Monken.

Um, what, and I think part of their idea all along was, well, like, can we keep Schwartz under the, under the umbrella some way, somehow, and even if he's not the head coach, um, and this idea, I think that, that Monken, um, was more likely to be able to hang on to him than Shielhaus or, you know, say Grant Yudinsky.

I, you know, I don't know that it's really about those guys as much as it is about his own aspirations and where he wants to go from here .

Yeah, I, I, I feel for Schwartz, and I think that he probably was looking at this situation as his last great play for a head coach and maybe it impacted the way that he was, um, you know, trying to get other jobs.

It's tough for an older guy on the defensive side to get one, period.

And if.

I mean, look at, look at Vance Joseph, who looks like he's gonna get boxed out again.

I mean, how unbelievable is that after the season that he's had, and Jim is just another, uh, he's just another example of that.

Even Matt Burke, you know, and he's, who, I mean, had like a defense that was historic in a lot of different ways and has put in his time.

Like, I think, like that's a great example of somebody who 100% should be mentioned.

He got one head coaching interview, one.

And like how good were they defensively and Matt's Matt's not as old as Schwartz, but I think Matt's in his late 40s now, right around there.

He's around 47, 48, you know, so, um, you know, certainly I think for guys on that side of the ball there's definitely more urgency to strike when the iron's hot, you know, because the next opportunity is gonna come along, right?

Yeah, um, I, so here's the thing, and this is gonna sound like a, a bad thing, but I don't think it was a bad thing.

Um, if you pair Schwartz and Monken together and you can get them on the same page, that staff reminds me a lot of a hire that I actually thought was a smart hire.

It just didn't work out in theory, which was when you, when the, um, it was the year that the Broncos came down to Vic Fangio and Mike Munchak as their head coaching candidates and then just hired both of them and put them on the staff together.

And I, I guess we could effectively say that.

Monken and Schwartz were their final two.

if you can get a way to get them on that staff, because here's the thing, here's what, there was an interesting stat that The two teams in the Super Bowl this year, I think, are the two best teams in the NFL right now in, uh, like procedural penalties.

They don't do dumb things.

Um, they handle game situations really well.

And what's the kind of the thread that we often lose with some of our younger offensive-minded head coaches?

It's clock management, it's timeout usage.

It's when to challenge, and you could even say that about some of our older, uh, offensive play calling head coaches.

But when you have more of a CEO mentality, when you have a little bit more seasoning, when you've seen a lot of ball.

I think sometimes those little margins and those little edges end up going in your favor.

And I don't know what Todd will be as a head coach.

I know he could call a hell of an offense for almost any quarterback.

I mean we've seen him work with a lot of different players and do really well with those players.

But, and maybe this is just me putting old guys in a bucket.

But I also like the idea that maybe he's a also a a good game manager or has at least seen enough ball to be confident in what he's doing late in games.

Yeah, yeah, and, and I think that that part of it is.

Like having like that sort of coach is gonna help them, like, and I, I think a huge part of like that job now is going to be player development .

And, you know, I think, again, like this is something we don't talk about enough because like so much of, so many people are focused on just what they see on TV on Sunday, right?

Like, which is like the scheme and like how's the guy handling game management, that's stuff's all important too.

But player development is a different category than that.

And you like, just like look at their roster and what they're trying to do right now, and we've talked about this with Miami and kind of why they hired Jeff Hafley and why they wanted um and why they, why, why they wanted a GM like John Eric Sullivan.

I, I think with Cleveland, it's gonna have to be the same sort of thing.

So, it's gonna have to be a good Teach and develop staff, you know, and I think that's one thing with Todd Monken with his ability at different levels of football, um, or his experience at different levels of football, where he's done that at different levels of football, because you look at it right now, right?

So what's the basis of the Brown's gonna be?

Of course, it's gonna be Miles Garrett and Denzel Ward, but it's also like that rookie class.

It's Mason Graham, it's, uh, Quinshaw Judkins, it's Carson Schlesinger, it's Harold Fannon, it's Um, you know, it's Dylan Sampson.

It's the young quarterbacks, like can you get more out of them?

Um, and then it's gonna be next year, it's gonna be this year's draft class too, cause you have two first-round picks, you know, so, so much of where the Browns are going from here, is gonna be kind of contingent on their ability to develop young players.

And I think, you know, like Monk and, again, with his varied experience and, and being able to kind of maximize some of the guys he did in Baltimore, bringing, help bring along the young linemen there, help develop the young receiver and Zay Flowers, um, that's another area where I think Monking can be really, really good.

And like, even when we see it happening, you might not get credit for it, but I do think it's a reason like why this hire could make sense.

In fact, it was like one of the questions on their test was On their, um, that test that got so much, so much, I want you to talk about that in a second, yeah, yeah, but that, but that was one of the, there, there were 3 players that were involved in that was like, how do you, how was your plan to develop so and so, you know, it's a big part of what they were trying to do.

So I, I wanna go back to that because the, um, we saw a lot of reports about the test, the test, the test.

Um, and, and I, and I can, I think two things can be true.

One, we've seen other good teams give tests, not necessarily to this, um, not necessarily to this length, but, um, I forget what team it was, but they had a, Uh, like a game management, a whole game management setup that their coaches had to go through, which is good.

I mean, you want to do that.

This one, Albert, take us through it.

I mean, uh, the what you would read on like the, the two-line thing on Instagram, like the LOL thing.

Like personality test or something like that.

What, what was it actually?

So there are three parts to it.

Um, one was a cognitive test, which, you know, whatever you, however you wanna term that, like an IQ type of test, what that, that sort of thing, right?

Then there was a personality test, which the test they use is what's commonly referred to as the Hogan test, um, and I think that that was sort of done to measure the EQ, the emotional, um, part of it, right.

Um, so you have those two tests, which are objective tests, and then you have like a subjective part of it, which is the, you know, like the, and people, uh, you know, I know Tom called this the essay, Tom Pelliaro, who reported on this stuff, initially called this the essay.

It wasn't really an essay.

It was more, here are a half dozen questions about the role of the head coach.

Um, I think half of them were Brown-specific, the other half were just general philosophy things.

And the idea behind it, and I think this, this part of it's interesting to me at least, right?

The idea, the idea behind it was Why is it that like, and it was them looking in the mirror and saying, why is it that when we have had home run interviews, that has not resulted in having great head coaches, right?

And you hear about these guys who have home run interviews and, and so there are examples where Hugh Jackson knocked it out of the park, Freddie Jackson knocked it out of the park in the interview, didn't wind up manifesting on the field.

And then you have in other scenarios.

Andy Reid only got one interview, right?

Like he had, he like his first interview was with the Philadelphia Eagles, right?

Like, and that was the first interview he'd ever had.

He gets the job, winds up being an awesome hire.

Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh, same thing.

Nick Siriani in Philly, that's more recent.

Kevin Stefansky , his first interview was with the Browns.

So their whole thing was, why is it that guys that we've had who've knocked out of the park from an, from, from, from an interview, interview perspective, that hasn't translated to them being great coaches.

And then on the other side of it, you have all these guys who aren't in demand to be interviewed.

Who wind up being great.

And so it caused to kind of look at their process and the whole thing was with this was, all right, like this is stuff, these aren't on the spot questions like this is more like we want you to give this some thought and then that allows them to have a foundation for the interview where now you can go a little bit further in depth because you have the answers to those questions.

Um, and here's why it's problematic, by the way, sorry , this is long-winded, no, no, no, but why it's problematic is if the guy, if you're, you know , if you're Todd Monken and you only have one interview, it's fine, right?

If you're one of these guys who's got 7 or 8 interview requests, Can you take the time that you need to, to, to do all of that, you know, that's a little different thing, right?

If you're Nate Shieldhouse, do you have time, you have 4 hours to set aside for a psychological exam, you know, uh, probably not.

Uh, that reminds me, I, I, I was up for a job once, uh, and there was a 20 question addendum to the end of one of the interviews and 3 separate tests.

That I had to take and I was like, is this really, you know, do you want me to work here or would you just like a bunch of my ideas served to you on a silver platter?

Um, I always think about that.

Um, with Cleveland, right, it's hard for me because this is exactly what I have been advocating for teams to do for so long.

There are so many good coaches, Albert, that are just not getting the chance and it's agent led.

It's, it's.

I think it's fan led to some degree, it's owners caving to certain things and just wanting, uh, the right kind of attention, you know, you pick your poison.

It's, it's a lot of different issues here, but, um, Again, it's like Cleveland in particular, and this brain trust has gotten me excited so many times only to spectacularly let me down.

You know what I mean?

Like, I, I mean, I go all the way back to, I was reading something that I wrote the other day about Hugh Jackson and Sashi Brown for NFL.

com back when I used to work there and I was like, how can this not work?

You know, it's like this.

It's gonna be unbelievable.

And, and, and I was doing reporting on it and I'm like, oh my God, like they're setting this up this way and they're setting up this way, and, and Sashi Brown's past was as an arbitrator.

So he's gonna fix all the arguments that they have.

Well, uh, Albert, fast forward 10 years later, that's not exactly Say Brown's now on the business side, as the president of the Ravens, and Hugh Jackson is not in the NFL.

So, uh, yeah, and so.

Uh, you know, it's hard and then, you know, when Paul Deep Des came, came and it's like, OK, we're gonna, we're gonna tank and we're gonna, we're gonna get more draft picks and we're gonna, we have a timeline and we have to take this guy here and then, uh, you know, DeSean Kaiser and, uh, barely taking Miles Garrett over Mitch Trubisky.

Like, these are things that just kept happening and will continue to happen.

And God, I hope Monken is just like, Well, there are so many lessons from that though, and like seeing all this, but how fortunate are they that they were able to sustain that many lessons?

Like, you know, I know, and that that that's Andrew Barry's still there, but it's like, yeah, I mean like they went from being highly unconventional with, you know, Sashi Brown running the football operation to then making a very conventional functional hire in John Dorsey, who, by the way, Drafted really well.

Like those, those two years, like the Kevin Stefansky team, like the foundation of the Kevin Stefansky team that made the playoffs twice in 4 years was John Dorsey's draft classes, you know, on top of having Miles Garrett from the year before.

And so like I think it's, it's just, I mean, I, I, the way I look at it, like I think it's.

It's really it's, it's interesting to see like kind of everything they've been through and, and, and we'll see how this works out, you know, um, you can have a lot of good research and still pull the trigger on the wrong guy, you know, you have good, good research, good concepts, and then it just doesn't work out and sometimes those things can be fickle, you know , it can be, hey, you know, you drafted the right quarterback or the wrong quarterback, so we'll see what happens.

Really quickly before you, the, the quarterback thing is gonna be a huge thing for them, you know.

I agree.

I mean, you, you reported this, and I think everyone should go check it out on SI.

com.

Part of the interview process was, how are you gonna develop Shador now, do you think, Albert, that that is, we're rolling with this guy this year ?

No, I don't think it's necessarily that so much as it is.

So, like the, I talking to people who interviewed there, what I got back was that it was more, I think the Browns would see it as a bonus if you could If you could make something out, get something out of him, yeah, right, like they, they would see it like, and I don't think that they were gonna force the door down anyone's throat, but I do think like, hey, like let's see what we have, you know, because maybe this isn't the best year to be looking for a quarterback.

It's for Fernando Mendoza and who in the draft, you know, like, so there's a chance like that.

You know, you look at Ty Simpson and you say he's, I mean, is he much better than Dylan Gabriel and Sha and Shado Sanders?

Maybe not.

You know what I mean?

Like, so now you're standing pat, and is there a quarterback in the veteran market that can upgrade you?

Maybe it's Kirk Cousins, I don't know.

I, I, I, it's Uh, you know, I just think you look at the totality of it for the Browns, and it was, and look, part of it too, I, I know this, like there were 3 players that were involved in that question, right?

So it's how do you develop Shadoor Sanders.

There's another player on there that was like, has been a little bit more up and down.

So, you know, it was sort of philosophical to what your role is gonna be in defend in, in developing players and then specific to like, how are you gonna develop a quarterback.

And Shador was kind of the example that they use is like, what is your philosophy for developing a young quarterback, but the fact that his name was on there and Dylan Gabriel's wasn't, is notable, you know, because they were in the same draft class and Gabriel was drafted higher.

The um I mean, if I was Monking, I mean, is this, you know, is this crazy to just be like, no, I'm good.

I mean, like, I mean, like, I, I think that that's part of it too, though, it's like, you know, if you're a new coach looking for a fresh start, So I mean Shaur just there's so much to it and he's and and there's some talent a long way to go.

He's got a long way to go.

Like I don't know that the talent is high-end enough to justify like some sort of huge investment in developing him and like there's all the stuff that comes with him, and some of it's not his fault, you know, like, but there, there is all the stuff that comes with him.

So to some degree organizationally, you gotta make the decision.

You know, and, and I think like, honestly like if, if he can just kind of be low key now, right, and he can, you know, quiet all the noise around, it would be hard for him to quiet all the noise around him, but if he can just go in and like, hey, my focus is off, I'm just going in to develop as a quarterback.

Like I don't think it does him anything like making the Pro Bowl, like the NFL shoehorning him into the Pro Bowl, right, like which is kind of weird, but I think they're doing it to get attention on an event that's not getting any attention, right?

Like, so let's shoe.

I guess that's 100% what happened here.

Um.

I don't believe that does him any favors either, you know.

I agree what's best for Shadur is, I look, I, I, I worked with his dad.

I like his dad.

Like what's, what's best for Shadur is for him to disappear and develop for the next 6 months, you know, because that, that's what's gonna give him the best chance.

What's not gonna give him the best chance is all this noise being around him constantly, you know.

And so, you know, whatever he can do to.

Again , be the, whatever he is now, the 40th player in the roster, the 35th player on the roster, just go in and develop like any other guy coming off his rookie year, who was drafted in the 5th round would.

That's it's hard, it's a hard ask when, when your last name is Sanders, you know, and your dad is who he is, but I think that, I think that like finding a way to get there with Todd Monken, I think would be, would be ideal.

So here's the thing, I mean, if I'm Monken, this is sort of my thought, and, and I know.

I, I get it.

And I, and I understand the people who are fans of, uh, of Shioor.

There's one account on, on, on social media that I'm thinking of specifically, but that, um, And I, and I get the defense of him.

I, I don't think he's been anything but a wonderful kid in the NFL, really.

I mean, like if you watch his press conferences, if you watch the way he handles things, um, he, I mean, he's done this show a couple of times, but for the most part, he, he , he, media savvy, all of that.

But if I'm Monking, I'm saying, I, this is just my internal calculus.

I've waited this long to get a head coaching job in the NFL.

I am, let's see.

I am 59.

OK.

This is never happening again.

OK.

This is it.

Uh, I gotta make this work.

I got a 5-year contract and then it's Key West, OK, after this, if I survive all 5 years, which I, you know, statistically, probably not going to .

And so I got this quarterback over here that every team in the NFL passed up for 4 different rounds, OK?

And if I cut him.

And I let him go Is, uh, maybe someone will pick him up, but what are the chances that that guy has a Saquan Barkley effect on me and makes me look like an idiot for cutting him, versus what are the chances that I'm stuck with him?

I gotta play him at some point.

He does something in a game that makes me look stupid, or the Sanders Inc.

Comes in here and makes me look like an asshole, right?

Like that's how you kind of got to weigh that if, if, if you're Monken, right?

I mean, that's my calculus is like, you know, yeah, and I agree with you.

And if it was Todd Monken making that decision in a vacuum, I, I, I, I think it's a real debate, um, but I don't think it's Todd Monken making that decision in a vacuum, right, uh, and I think that's part of the problem.

That's how we get here.