Todd Monken - Pro Football Rumors

Browns Hire Todd Monken, Steve Wilks

January 14th, 2019 at 9:52am CST by Zachary Links

The Browns’ coaching staff is officially set. On Monday, the Browns officially announced the hiring of Todd Monken as the new offensive coordinator and Steve Wilks as defensive coordinator. In addition to those hires, the club appointed Mike Priefer as special teams coordinator, Stump Mitchell as the running backs coach/run game coordinator, James Campen as offensive line coach/associate head coach, and Ryan Lindley as quarterbacks coach.

Monken has a reputation for savvy play calling, even though Buccaneers’ offense was inconsistent in 2018. The Bucs didn’t consider him as a potential replacement for head coach Dirk Koetter, but other clubs were eager to talk with him. The Bengals, Packers, and Jets all interviewed him for their head coaching vacancies and several clubs showed keen interest in bringing him on as their new OC. Ultimately, Monken chose the Browns, who offer tremendous potential and a potential star quarterback in Baker Mayfield.

Wilks was one-and-done as the Cardinals’ head coach after the team limped to a 3-13 record. His defense did not perform up to par in Arizona, but he built a reputation for himself as a smart defensive mind in Carolina. In his six seasons with the Panthers (five as defensive backs coach, one as DC), the club finished with a top 10 defense five times.

Browns To Hire Steve Wilks As DC, Todd Monken As OC

January 13th, 2019 at 7:02pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

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.

Packers, Lions To Interview Todd Monken

January 11th, 2019 at 2:17pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Both the Packers and Lions intend to interview former Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken in the coming days, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Monken is also scheduled to meet with the Browns this weekend.

Monken generated head coaching interest in the past few weeks, and even interviewed for the Green Bay position before Matt LaFleur was hired. Monken’s meeting with the Packers was said to have gone especially well, so it’s perhaps no surprise that they’ve asked him back. While he presumably wouldn’t call plays in Green Bay, Monken would have the opportunity work with future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers.

In Detroit, meanwhile, Monken would have the opportunity to call offensive plays. Head coach Matt Patricia comes from a defensive background, and the Lions are searching for a new OC after firing Jim Bob Cooter earlier this week. Monken, who runs an Air Raid scheme, would offer a stark contrast to Cooter’s run-oriented offense.

Monken, a former collegiate head coach at Southern Miss, joined Tampa Bay in 2016 but wasn’t named OC until last season. The Buccaneers proceeded to rank third in total yardage, third in yards per play, and 12th in points and DVOA despite flip-flopping between Jameis Winston and Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback.

Coaching Rumors: Jets, Gase, Cardinals, Lions

January 10th, 2019 at 1:32pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jets likely preferred Baylor’s Matt Rhule to Adam Gase, but as previously reported, things fell apart when Rhule refused to allow the Jets to pick his staff for him. The Jets especially wanted to choose his offensive coordinator and Rich Cimini of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears the Jets floated Todd Monken to him as an option.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

The Cardinals asked, but were denied, permission to interview 49ers run game coordinator Mike McDaniel for their offensive coordinator position, Matt Barrows of The Athletic tweets. McDaniel is tight with head coach Kyle Shanahan and the team was not prepared to lose him, especially to a divisional rival.
“It appears” that Steve Sarkisian and Nathaniel Hackett are in the mix for the Lions‘ offensive coordinator vacancy, Alex Marvez of SiriusXM tweets. The Lions have been looking for a new OC ever since Jan. 1 when they announced that Jim Bob Cooter‘s contract would not be renewed.
Sarkisian has also spoken with the Cardinals about their OC job, Marvez tweets. Sarkisian has been on the market since Dec. 31 when he was fired by Atlanta.
Both the Cardinals and Browns have sought permission to interview Jets running backs coach Stump Mitchell, a source tells Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The position(s) he’ll be discussing with those teams are unclear, however.

Browns, Jaguars Talk With Todd Monken

January 10th, 2019 at 10:57am CST by Zachary Links

Former Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken will interview with the Browns for their vacant OC job this weekend, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Monken also spoke with the Jaguars about their OC vacancy, so it appears that he is only focused on those jobs at the moment.

Monken was in the running for the Packers’ and Jets’ openings, but those positions have since been filled by Matt LaFleur and Adam Gase, respectively. He also interviewed for the Bengals’ job, which is still vacant, but his move to talk OC jobs with the Jags and Browns is probably an indication that he won’t be getting the gig in Cincy.

For what it’s worth, Rapoport hears that Monken impressed in his head coaching interviews with the Jets, so he should be positioned as a strong candidate for these OC openings. The Browns job may be especially appealing to Monken and other offensive specialists, though they’ll have to weigh the fact that new head coach Freddie Kitchens will probably hold the keys on play calling.

Jets To Interview Todd Monken

January 8th, 2019 at 10:13am CST by Zachary Links

The Jets will interview Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken on Tuesday, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Jets made their request to talk with Monken recently and the Bucs did not stand in the way since Monken is likely on his way out no matter what.

The Buccaneers are the midst of their own head coaching search, but they eliminated Monken from the pool when they announced that no internal candidates would be considered from the post. Monken, theoretically, could stay as the offensive coordinator under a new regime, but Monken has little incentive to wait and around and find out if the Bucs’ next head coach wants him.

The Bucs fell flat in 2018, but the offense did have its moments under Monken. It’s also worth noting that Monken was the runner-up in Green Bay before that job went to Matt LaFleur.

The Jets have already met with Mike McCarthy, Kris Richard, Jim Caldwell, Matt Rhule, Eric Bieniemy, Adam Gase, and Kliff Kingsbury. There’s a belief that Rhule is high on the Jets’ list, but it would be a gutsy move to choose him over some of the other names on this list.

Packers Hire Titans OC Matt LaFleur As HC

January 7th, 2019 at 5:04pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

It looks like the first head coaching search of the offseason might be coming to an end. The Packers are “zeroing in on” hiring Titans offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur, sources told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The team has since confirmed the hire via press release.

While nothing is official yet, Schefter writes that the Packers “have begun notifying other HC candidates that they’ve interviewed that they’re out and the team has made its choice.” Schefter then posted a follow up tweet noting that the team offered the job to LaFleur. It’s a rapid ascent for LaFleur, who last season wasn’t even calling plays. LaFleur was the Rams’ offensive coordinator for the 2017 season, but Sean McVay called the plays. He was the Falcons’ quarterbacks coach before that from 2015-2016, and learned under two of the league’s most highly regarded offensive minds in Kyle Shanahan and McVay.

He was then hired away by the Titans to become part of Mike Vrabel’s first staff, where he served as the playcaller. Despite Marcus Mariota being frequently hurt, LaFleur helped guide the team to nine wins, with Tennessee ultimately falling just short of the playoffs. LaFleur is only 39, and his hiring continues the trend of teams looking for young offensive gurus as head coaches.

Despite dealing with a nerve injury in his throwing arm that limited him for several games and knocked him out of several others, Mariota averaged the most yards per attempt of his career under LaFleur. While the offense wasn’t nearly as dynamic as the one LaFleur helped build in Los Angeles, it was a lot more creative and innovative than the one Mike Mularkey had been running in Tennessee. Aaron Rodgers had clearly grown frustrated with the offense during Mike McCarthy’s last years with the Packers, and LaFleur should at the very least provide a much needed breath of fresh air to the offense.

While the offensive side of the ball is set to undergo a total makeover, there might be some continuity on defense. The move means the team is likely to keep defensive coordinator Mike Pettine and the rest of the defensive staff in place, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN (Twitter link). Rapoport notes in a separate tweet that former Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken was the “other really strong candidate” for the Packers, but the team settled on LaFleur without conducting a second round of interviews.

Packers To Interview Todd Monken

January 5th, 2019 at 2:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Packers’ search to find Mike McCarthy‘s replacement has become quite extensive. Another candidate is now in the mix.

Todd Monken will interview for the job on Saturday night, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (on Twitter). This makes nine candidates (so far) on Green Bay’s interview list.

Recently the Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator, Monken’s docket is filling up fast. He has two interviews scheduled for next week, with the Bengals on Monday and Jets on Tuesday, Fowler adds.

While the Bucs again disappointed, their offense could be counted on for production. Tampa Bay ranked third in total yardage (and 12th in points) this season. No team in the franchise’s 43-season history had previously finished in the top three offensively.

The 2018 season was a critical one for Monken, as he took over play-calling duties for most of the campaign. Dirk Koetter had called plays previously, and did so again briefly this season, but Monken put himself on the map with his work in 2018.

The 52-year-old coach has spent most of his tenure on college staffs but did coach the Jaguars’ wide receivers from 2007-10. After serving as Oklahoma State’s OC for the following two years and then Southern Miss’ head coach over the next three, Monken became the Bucs’ OC. Though, he still served as Tampa Bay’s wideouts coach from 2016-17. Koetter rearranged Monken’s responsibilities in the 2018 offseason, allowing him to focus solely on his OC duties.

Josh McDaniels Turns Down Bengals Interview

January 3rd, 2019 at 10:24am CST by Zachary Links

Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels declined an opportunity to meet with the Bengals regarding their head coaching job, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. McDaniels, who famously flip-flopped on the Colts last year, is still in the running for jobs elsewhere.

Teams will undoubtedly be wary about getting in bed with McDaniels, but the Patriots continually boast one of the NFL’s best offenses and it’s hard to overlook McDaniels’ resume. The Packers are next up to interview McDaniels and the OC figures to have a loaded calendar in between film room sessions.

The Patriots finished fourth in scoring and fifth in total yardage in 2018, despite an uncharacteristically weak year from Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski. McDaniels has undoubtedly benefitted from the tools given to him in New England, but teams may be impressed by his ability to keep things afloat when things got tough last year.

The Bengals won’t get to meet with McDaniels, but they will try to speak with Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Given the Bucs’ upheaval and the team’s unwillingness to consider internal candidates for the head coaching vacancy, it’s likely that Monken will be heading elsewhere no matter what. The Bengals may see Monken as the coach to get the most out of the speedy John Ross given the success he has had with DeSean Jackson in Tampa.

Bucs Rumors: Winston, McCoy, Monken

January 1st, 2019 at 10:24am CST by Zachary Links

Here’s the latest out of Tampa:

The Buccaneers say they’re looking for a new head coach, but not looking for a new starting quarterback. “Jameis Winston will be here. We have him under contract for a year,” GM Jason Licht said (via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times). “He has done some amazing things for a young 24, turns 25 in a week, quarterback. He’s accomplished more than most of the elite quarterbacks have at his age throughout that time span. There’s a lot to like about Jameis. Jameis will be here next year.” The Bucs picked up the fifth year option on Winston’s contract, which should keep him in place for another season at a rate of $20.92MM. Of course, the option is guaranteed for injury only, so the Buccaneers could theoretically get out of the deal.
Licht cannot guarantee that defensive tackle Gerald McCoy will be back with the team in 2019 (Twitter link via Stroud). “We have a lot of tough decisions to make,” Licht said. Thanks to the seven-year, $95.2MM contract extension he signed with the Bucs in 2014, McCoy is slated to be back with the team in 2019 at a $13MM cap number. However, it is a non-guaranteed deal. Despite Tampa Bay’s problems on defense and McCoy’s injury trouble, he still turned in a decent year for the Bucs. McCoy graded out as the No. 27 ranked defensive tackle in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus.
Licht says the Buccaneers will not consider in-house candidates for the head coaching job, as Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. That automatically rules out offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who may be up for the Jets job.