Todd Monken - Pro Football Rumors

Todd Monken To Call Bucs’ Plays In Week 11

November 16th, 2018 at 6:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

Dirk Koetter took back the Buccaneers’ play-calling reins last week, but the team made history with a 501-yard, three-point showing. The third-year head coach won’t be sending in plays Sunday.

Offensive coordinator Todd Monken will return to his play-calling post against the Giants, Koetter said Friday (via Greg Auman of The Athletic, on Twitter). Tampa Bay’s OC had called the shots prior to Koetter taking over against Washington. Koetter debated this decision throughout the week.

Both coaches are surely on the hot seat for the 3-6 Bucs, who have lost five of their past six games. Koetter was viewed as a hot-seat occupant last season until he was surprisingly given a third season to right this ship. With that having not occurred to this point, Koetter and his staff may be on the verge of offseason relocations.

Despite Jameis Winston failing to deliver this season, Monken’s offense still ranks first in total yardage and 12th in points. Those marks are well north of the Koetter-led 2017 Bucs’ placements (ninth and 18th, respectively). Ryan Fitzpatrick is completing 67 percent of his passes and is still averaging nearly 10 yards per attempt. Against Washington, though, the Bucs set a record by becoming the only team to surpass 450 yards and produce three or fewer points.

Tampa Bay has never led the league in total offense, coming closest during Koetter’s final season as OC (fifth in 2015). Although doing so for a team that’s careening out of the playoff race would be a somewhat hollow accomplishment, it would certainly look good for Monken this offseason, when he may have to look for another job.

Bucs Undecided On Offensive Playcaller

November 15th, 2018 at 3:06pm CST by Zachary Links

Last week, Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter yanked play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Todd Monken. Recently, Koetter told reporters that he’s unsure about who will call the shots on Sunday against the Giants, though he plans to finalize things before Friday.

“Every Thursday night we put the game plan to bed,” Koetter said (Twitter link via Pewter Report). “After dinner, after we get done with the players, we put the game plan to bed and make our final adjustments. After we do that tonight, we’ll decide and move on from there. That’s how we do it and I believe in our process.”

Koetter, who has spent the bulk of his career as an OC, called the plays against the Redskins and the offense amassed more than 500 total yards. Unfortunately, the Bucs’ only points came off of a field goal and red-zone turnovers undid a lot of their good work. Koetter got some results by doing things his way, but the shortcomings are giving him second thoughts about how to proceed.

Obviously, every coach of the 3-6 Bucs is on the hot seat, so the security of both Koetter and Monken will depend on the next seven games. The Bucs face long odds of making the playoffs, but they can keep their Wild Card hopes alive with a win this week.

Extra Points: Bucs, Koetter, Bears, Parkey, Bengals, Kirkpatrick

November 11th, 2018 at 9:58pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

After a promising start, the Buccaneers have spiraled downward. The team is now 3-6, they’ve shuffled between Jameis Winston and Ryan Fitzpatrick multiple times, and the offense is completely in the tank. The defense has been historically bad, and coach Dirk Koetter is firmly on the hot seat.

In a move seemingly made out of desperation, Koetter took back play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Todd Monken for the team’s loss to the Redskins, according to Jenna Laine of ESPN.com. Monken had been calling plays all season, and had been widely praised for the Bucs’ initial offensive success. Whatever Koetter was trying to accomplish clearly didn’t work, as the Buccaneers scored just three points today. A move might not be made until the end of the season, but it seems pretty clear Koetter’s time with the organization is coming to an end.

Here’s more from around the league:

Bears kicker Cody Parkey missed two field goals and two extra points today against Detroit, but Chicago coach Matt Nagy ruled out replacing him after the game, according to ESPN.com. Parkey has now missed five field goals this season, but Nagy flat-out rejected the notion the team would look for a new kicker. Parkey missed a potential game-winner in overtime against the Dolphins a few weeks back.
The Bengals were demolished by the Saints at home today, and their already injury depleted defense got even more bad news. Starting cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick was ruled out for the game with a concussion and is currently in the concussion protocol, according to Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Bengals are already down multiple starters on defense, so they can’t afford to be without Kirkpatrick.
In case you missed it, the Steelers are expected to place the transition tag on Le’Veon Bell this offseason.

South Notes: Bucs, Reid, Titans, Jags, Colts

September 29th, 2018 at 6:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Titans will have their offensive line intact on Sunday against the Eagles. Jack Conklin is returning after missing the first three games, and the third-year right tackle starter appears to be glad his rehab took this careful route from the ACL tear that required a full offseason and some regular-season time to overcome. It looks like the Titans’ decision to keep Conklin off their PUP list was critical, since a PUP designation would’ve shelved him for the season’s first six weeks.

“I honestly feel better than I’ve ever felt playing,” Conklin said, via Erik Bacharach of The Tennesseean. “I feel faster, I feel quicker, and I’m honestly a lot stronger than I’ve ever been playing.”

Conklin and Taylor Lewan haven’t played in a full game together since the Titans’ wild card win over the Chiefs. Lewan suffered a concussion earlier this season but is now back at his left tackle spot. Both players are signed through at least 2019, although it’s a near-lock the Titans will pick up Conklin’s fifth-year option next May.

Here’s how some other South-division teams look going into their Week 4 games:

Dirk Koetter wanted Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken to focus more on the offense as a whole rather than having to split time between OC duties and wide receivers coach as he previously did. It was Koetter’s decision to hire a wideouts coach, Skyler Fulton, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times notes. Monken then took over devising the Bucs’ practice scripts before calling plays in the preseason, per Stroud, who adds Koetter made a concerted effort to accelerate Bucs camp practices in order to squeeze in more work. Stroud argues it was a smart decision for the Bucs to stick with Koetter, a chopping-block candidate after 2017’s disappointment, than bringing back Jon Gruden.
The risk Le’Veon Bell will wear down as his late-20s seasons commence should induce the Colts to stay away from the soon-to-be 27-yard-old running back in free agency, at least at the price he seeks, Nat Newell of the Indianapolis Star writes. Chris Ballard‘s repeated mantra reiterations of building through the draft makes it unlikely the Colts will trade for Bell, Newell adds. The Colts are projected to possess a staggering (and league-most) $126MM in cap space in 2019. They could more than afford Bell and do not have much in the way of proven ball-carrying talent. But the risk of not getting value from this unique free agent would make an investment risky.
Eric Reid‘s Panthers contract maxes out at $2MM and includes $1MM in base salary. NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero has numbers for the gray area in between, tweeting the sixth-year safety could earn up to $610K through incentives. Wage bumps for playing time and a Pro Bowl nod exist in this deal. Reid hasn’t made the Pro Bowl since 2014. Carolina’s on a bye this week, giving Reid additional time to acclimate to his new team’s defensive scheme.
Leonard Fournette sent and deleted a tweet that indicated he will be back for the Jaguars‘ Week 4 game against the Jets, Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk notes. The second-year running back included the phrase “happy to be back” in his since-deleted tweet, providing a good sign he’s ready to return from the hamstring malady that cost him two games (and perhaps a decent sign the Jags don’t want the Jets knowing this a day in advance). The Jags went 1-1 without their offensive centerpiece.

Buccaneers Notes: Monken, Koetter, Pierre-Paul, Jackson, Hargreaves

September 13th, 2018 at 9:32am CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Buccaneers’ offensive explosion in Week 1 caught pretty much everybody by surprise. The Bucs scored 48 points and won fairly easily on the road in New Orleans. Ryan Fitzpatrick had one of the best games of his career, throwing for 417 yards and four touchdowns and no interceptions.

Although it was mostly the same personnel from previous seasons, there was at least one major change. Offensive coordinator Todd Monken was calling plays instead of head coach Dirk Koetter according to Jenna Laine of ESPN. Koetter had always called plays during his time in Tampa Bay, but relinquished the play calling duties to Monken after he excelled in the role during the preseason. If Week 1 is any indication, it doesn’t look like Koetter will be asking for the responsibility back anytime soon.

Here’s more from Tampa:

The injuries just keep piling up for the Bucs on defense. Vernon Hargreaves was recently placed on injured reserve, top corner Brent Grimes‘ status is still unclear, and now star defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul has a knee injury according to Laine (Twitter link). Pierre-Paul told Laine his knee was “jacked up” and that while he hopes to play this Sunday he’s “not really sure” if he’ll be able to.
The injuries aren’t only on defense. Receiver DeSean Jackson is in the concussion protocol according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). In addition to the concussion, Jackson is nursing a minor shoulder injury and it’s unclear if he’ll be able to go Sunday against the Eagles, although at this point it looks like he’ll probably play assuming he clears the protocol.
It was reported earlier this week that Hargreaves would miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury, and now more details are in. The 11th overall pick of the 2016 draft has a torn labrum according to Laine. Although he struggled his first two years in the league, Hargreaves reportedly had a very strong camp to win the starting job, and it’s a huge blow to the Bucs’ already thin secondary.

Extra Points: XFL, Helmet Rule, Bucs, Bears

August 25th, 2018 at 5:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although fewer details are known about the XFL’s relaunch compared to the Alliance of American Football’s debut, XFL 2.0 have an edge on the AAF when it comes to adding talent. The previous figure that’s surfaced regarding XFL salaries has been $75K, but league commissioner Oliver Luck said recently (via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk) that exceptional players could earn more than $200K per season. (The NFL’s 2018 league minimum is $480K for rookies.) The AAF plans to structure three-year, $250K contracts. Both the XFL and AAF plan to have outs in deals in order to allow for players to try and make NFL rosters. Length of these contracts will vary from player to player, per Luck.

Additionally, the XFL plans to move forward with its location unveilings later this year. The AAF will station teams in Atlanta, Birmingham (Ala.), Memphis, Orlando, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Antonio and San Diego. It would stand to reason the XFL will choose other markets, but that’s not certain at this point. But this will also be an eight-team league. Both the XFL and AAF will feature 10-game seasons.

Shifting back to the NFL, here’s the latest:

The NFL’s helmet rule has probably been the most discussed topic during the preseason slate, and the competition committee convened this week to discuss the radical change. However, the committee determined the rule will not be tweaked at this time, despite the rule enduring scrutiny from all sides. NFL executive VP Troy Vincent added (Twitter link) instant replay will not be permitted to review these calls, but the committee did review feedback from players, coaches and referees. Additional video tutorials will be provided for what may be the defining component for the 2018 season.
Perhaps the 2016 and ’17 seasons’ defining sequences, the racial inequality-themed protests continue to spur meetings. Some NFLPA executive committee members will meet with a few owners Monday at the Giants’ facility to discuss the anthem controversy, Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets.
Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken has called plays during Tampa Bay’s preseason, but Dirk Koetter will take back the reins once the regular season starts, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Koetter enters the season on one of the hottest seats in the league, and his play-calling will go a long way toward determining if the Bucs can improve and if he’ll be given a fourth season as head coach. The Bucs have ranked 18th in scoring in each of Koetter’s two HC seasons.
Vic Fangio‘s coached pro football long enough he has USFL experience, and he had options to leave Chicago as new Bears coach Matt Nagy formed his staff. However, he returned in part because the Bears’ front office “badly” wanted him to stay, NFL reporter Adam Caplan tweets. Despite not having many household names on its 2017 unit, the Bears’ defense ranked as a top-10 group in both total and scoring defense. While Nagy and Ryan Pace made wholesale changes on offense, Fangio’s defense remains largely the same — albeit with Roquan Smith in the picture now.

Coaching Notes: Monken, Chiefs, Lions, Bills

January 29th, 2018 at 4:21pm CST by Sam Robinson

Todd Monken became the Buccaneers‘ offensive coordinator once Dirk Koetter rose to the HC spot, but he will now have more time to concentrate on the offense from a macro sense. The Bucs announced the promotion of Skyler Fulton to the role of wide receivers coach. Monken had served in a dual capacity of overseeing Tampa Bay’s wideouts and running the offense the past two years. This staff adjustment, however, won’t result in Monken calling plays, with Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk noting Koetter will still do that next season.

Fulton joined the Bucs’ staff during the 2016 preseason as part of the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship. The 35-year-old assistant played wide receiver under Koetter at Arizona State before a short NFL career. He received his first assistant-coaching opportunity in instructing running backs at Grossmont College, a community college in California, in 2015.

More coaching carousel happenings took place on Monday. Here’s the latest:

The Lions will move George Godsey to the side of the ball with which he’s most familiar, shifting him from a defensive assistant/special projects to their quarterbacks coach, Alex Marvez of the Sporting News tweets. OC for the Texans from 2015-16, Godsey will replace Brian Callahan — whom the Lions let go last week. While the rest of the defensive staff Godsey was working with was dismissed as Matt Patricia is slated to take over, the team will be making an exception by transitioning Godsey — who worked with the Patriots as an offensive assistant (2011) and tight ends coach (2012-13) during Patricia’s stay in New England — back to offense.
In addition, the Lions added former coordinators Jeff Davidson to coach their offensive line and Brian Stewart to head up their secondary, Marvez reports. A former Panthers OC and five-year Vikings offensive line boss, Davidson will coach a third O-line in the past three seasons after leading the Chargers’ group in 2016 and the Broncos’ front last season. Stewart, the Cowboys’ DC from 2007-08 under Wade Phillips, will leave his post as Rice’s DC to jump back to the NFL. Coaching at Houston, Nebraska and Rice during the 2010s, Stewart hasn’t coached in the NFL since that ’08 season in Dallas.
An NFL defensive line coach for the past 20 seasons, Mike Waufle will retire after spending the 2017 campaign with the Bills, he told the Evening Tribune (N.Y.). Position coach of the famed 2007 Giants’ Super Bowl champion defensive front, Waufle said various injuries have him in constant pain and will induce a retirement — one he informed Sean McDermott of shortly after Buffalo’s first-round loss in Jacksonville. As a result, the Bills will bring on Bill Teerlinck as their D-line coach, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com tweets. Teerlinck spent last season as Waufle’s assistant. Teerlinck’s assistant DL coach will be Aaron Whitecotton, who spent 2017 as an assistant to McDermott.
The Chiefs announced a slew of hirings and transitions. Most notably, Gary Gibbs will no longer serve as Kansas City’s linebackers coach. Gibbs served on staff for nine seasons, hired as part of Todd Haley‘s first group. The Chiefs will divvy up Gibbs’ responsibilities by placing previous assistant defensive line coach Mike Smith in charge of the outside linebackers and previous assistant linebackers coach Mark DeLeone in command of the inside ‘backers. Corey Matthaei is now K.C.’s assistant O-line coach, while Joe Bleymaier will become assistant quarterbacks coach under new QBs instructor Mike Kafka. Terry Bradden and David Girardi will take quality control positions, on defense and offense, respectively.

Jameis Winston Addresses Rift With Koetter

December 16th, 2017 at 7:09pm CST by Micah Powell

On Sunday, reports surfaced from NFL.com’s Ian Rappoport that the relationship between Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston and head coach Dirk Koetter was “not in a good place.” Winston addressed the reports before the team’s Week 15 showdown with Atlanta, saying, “there’s nothing to see here,” according to NFL.com’s Jeremy Bergman.

Winston told reporters, including the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud (Twitter link), “When you lose, people are always trying to find something to nitpick and nag at, and definitely attacking the relationship of a head coach and a quarterback is a way to get this locker room in a panic. We don’t condone that at all.”

Rappoport attributed the fractured relationship to Winston not feeling supported properly when he was playing through an injury early in the season. Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken added his own thoughts to the source of the issue:

“You know what the strain is? The frustration of being 4-9. That’s a frustration. When you put everything into it, what you’ve got is a quarterback that’s very competitive, a guy that wants to be great and has had a frustrating year, probably some things on and off the field, and a head coach that does an unbelievable job coaching our players and quarterback. And that becomes news? Holy cow! News flash! We’ve got a strain in our relationship. There’s not one person that can’t say that’s ever happened before. That is a flat-out joke that that even becomes news.”

The Buccaneers entered the 2017 season with high hopes thanks to a young offense that appeared on the verge of breaking out. That hasn’t happened and it is easy to see why the team’s star quarterback would be frustrated. Whether the stain is the record or the lack of support, it’s a story that might not go away too soon.

NFC Notes: Rodgers, Stafford, Bucs

November 27th, 2017 at 10:57pm CST by GregGoldstein

Despite the Packers falling behind in the NFC playoff picture, quarterback Aaron Rodgers was seen throwing the ball around prior to the start of the team’s Sunday night game in Pittsburgh. Now with Rodgers clearly progressing well, the soon-to-be 34-year-old may be ready to return to practice at the end of next week, reports Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. Demovsky passed along that head coach Mike McCarthy dodged a question about if he expected his starting QB to return this season. The earliest date Rodgers could be activated off the injured reserve would be in Week 15.

Fellow NFC North signal, Lions QB Matthew Stafford suffered an injury of his own on Thanksgiving, but appears to be “feeling better”, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. The injury appeared to be more serious, but is being classified as a sprained ankle by team doctors. “I’m feeling better,” Stafford said after practice on Monday. “Obviously stuck around in town this weekend, got a bunch of treatment on it. We’ll see. Coach (Jim Caldwell) will put out that report on Wednesday or whatever it is for practice and all that kind of stuff, but it’s getting better and hopefully it’ll continue to get better.” Obviously, the franchise quarterback will not be 100% healthy entering Week 13, but he’s fought through injuries before and it looks like he’ll be healthy enough to take on the Ravens this Sunday.
Despite an earlier report that Mississippi State may be targeting Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken for their heading coaching vacancy, Tampa Bay head coach Dirk Koetter hasn’t heard anything about school’s interest, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). “To my knowledge, Todd Monken has not been contacted by Mississippi State. That comes from his mouth to my ear.” While the interest may be more in the gathering stage at this point, expect to hear some NFL assistants get some looks from schools as jobs open up. Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is reportedly garnering interest in Arizona State’s open head coach position.
On the field, Stroud also reports that QB Jameis Winston could begin throwing again at practice this week, and could get enough work to start vs. the Packers this weekend. This would be a positive development for the third-year signal caller as he’s missed the team’s last three games with a shoulder injury. While the news is positive, Winston is also dealing with an NFL investigation off the field regarding a sexual assault allegation that stems from when Winston rode in an Uber last year.

Bucs OC Todd Monken On Mississippi State’s Radar

November 26th, 2017 at 9:51pm CST by GregGoldstein

There’s going to be a lot of moving and shaking in the college coaching ranks now that the college football regular season is in the rearview mirror. One premier head coaching job that has opened up is at Mississippi State now that former head coach Dan Mullen has bolted for Florida.

One NFL name that is gaining buzz for this position is Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken, according to Roy Cummings of Florida Football Insiders. Monken makes for a solid fit given his prior experience as a head coach at Southern Mississippi. The coordinator has also worked in the SEC before as a wide receivers coach at LSU for two years before making the jump to the professional ranks with the Jaguars in the same role.

Tampa Bay hasn’t been an offensive juggernaut despite some notable talent across the roster. But, it’s not unordinary for high level colleges to target NFL coaches with the hopes of swaying them under the guise of being their own boss in a sense.

It’s unknown just how interested Monken would be in making a career change back to the college game, but it’s certainly a story to follow, especially because of the ramifications it would mean for the Tampa Bay coaching staff if Monken were to eventually leave.