Steve Wilks wasn’t out of work long. The recently fired Cardinals head coach will be joining the Browns as Cleveland’s new defensive coordinator, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). Just moments later, Rapoport reported in a separate tweet that Todd Monken would be joining the Browns as their offensive coordinator.
While Rapoport the deal for Wilks isn’t quite done yet, he writes that the two sides are “close on a deal and it should be done tomorrow.” Things came together quite quickly for Freddie Kitchens’ staff, and the coaching staff now has a lot of star power. Wilks was fired by the Cardinals after just one season after the team limped to a 3-13 record.
Monken received a lot of praise for his work as the Buccaneers’ play caller this season, but wasn’t retained after head coach Dirk Koetter was let go. Monken used a creative, downfield oriented passing offense with Jameis Winston and Ryan Fitzpatrick, and his offensive philosophy would seem to mesh well with Kitchens’.
Monken received some head coaching buzz and interviews this cycle, but obviously didn’t land a gig. The Lions and Packers were reportedly interested in talking to him about their offensive coordinator vacancies, but Monken clearly was intrigued by the prospect of working with Baker Mayfield. He also interviewed with the Jaguars a few days ago.
We heard a couple days ago that the Browns were working to bring in Wilks, so this isn’t a surprise. Wilks’ lone season as a head coach clearly didn’t work out, but he was highly regarded as a coordinator with the Panthers before that.
Why would u hire a guy whose 32nd in the league at rushing, when last year u were the most running team in the league, please tell me that
They needed someone to signal in Freddie’s plays.
It wasn’t like TB really had much to work with at the RB position. I’m sure if he had Chubb, TB would’ve ran more and with a much higher degree of success..
If you’re primary options were Barber and Rodgers, you would’ve avoided running the ball as much as possible also..lol..
In order to even resemble a semblance of a short yardage game Monken was forced to get creative with short passes, pick routes, and screens..
I’m no TB fan, nor a Browns fan either, but you can’t blame Monken for not wanting to repeatedly bang his head against a wall..For an OC to be successful, they have to create an offense that revolves around their team’s strengths, not their weaknesses..In his prime, Mike Shannahan wouldn’t have even been able to run the ball with that RB/OL combo..
Kitchens is calling plays.
This coaching staff is looking pretty solid so far. I’d personally like for another experienced assistant with head coaching experience to help Kitchens get acclimated (since Wilks was only head coach for a year), but that’s my only problem; otherwise the staff looks impressive.
Steve Wilkes
Read the rest of the comment. I like Wilks, but I said that in an ideal world there would be someone else on the staff to have more than a year of head coaching experience.
Monken and the retained Dewayne Walker were head coaches in college. Wilks was a head coach for one year (as you stated). And the staff is not complete.
Should be in the playoffs next year, because afc north is wide open to me!
“the coaching staff now has a lot of star power.”
This would be great news for Browns fans if all the games were played at night. Stars are generally not visible during daytime but perhaps season ticket holders will be given extra powerful telescopes to view that star power.