Todd Monken - Pro Football Rumors

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.

South Notes: Bucs, Aguayo, Winston, Jaguars

May 20th, 2016 at 10:45am CST by Zachary Links

Draft evaluations are subjective and tend to vary greatly from team to team. This week, Buccaneers GM Jason Licht reminded us of that fact when he explained that he had first-round grades on three of his rookies this year, including kicker Roberto Aguayo. The Bucs thought enough of the FSU product to trade into the second round for him and apparently it’s a move that the Bucs made with confidence. Along with Aguayo, the GM feels that he snared first-round talents in cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III and defensive end Noah Spence. In 2015, Licht says he also hit it big.

“We think we got four last year,” Licht told Scott Reynolds of Pewter Report, referring to quarterback Jameis Winston, left tackle Donovan Smith, guard Ali Marpet, and linebacker Kwon Alexander . “That’s the goal – to get multiple first-round draft picks each year. When it’s all said done, to look back and say, ‘We got multiple first-round picks in this draft’ – that was the goal.”

While you ponder Licht’s assessment of his last two drafts (and his evaluation of Aguayo), here’s more out of the South divisions:

New Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken admits that he wasn’t a big fan of Winston prior to the 2015 draft. Today, the former Southern Miss head coach isn’t afraid to admit that he has had a change of heart. “It’s who he is, how he’s wired,” Monken said, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “I think that’s one thing that’s a misnomer. I think from the outside you would’ve looked at it with all the things that were publicized in the past about him and who he is. I was dead wrong. He wants to win as much as we do. He’s a competitive joker, man, he’s smart, he’s intelligent…you can win a lot of games with guys like that.”
Jeff Linkenbach‘s contract with the Jaguars is for one season and will pay $810K, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. The guard/tackle has 86 appearances and 36 starts on his NFL resume.
The Jaguars got some bad news on Thursday when they learned that first-round pick Jalen Ramsey will have to undergo surgery to fix a knee injury. Depending on the second opinion and the treatment option he goes with, Ramsey could reportedly miss 4-6 weeks or 4-6 months. If all goes well, however, he’ll be ready for the start of training camp.

Buccaneers Hire Todd Monken As OC

January 24th, 2016 at 3:59pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Buccaneers have hired Southern Mississippi head coach Todd Monken as their new offensive coordinator, the club announced today. The position was vacated, obviously, when Tampa Bay promoted Dirk Koetter to head coach. Per the team, Monken will also serve as receivers coach.

“I am very excited to add a coach with the type of experience and tenacity that Todd brings,” said Koetter in a statement. “I have always been impressed with his approach to the game as well as his ability to teach concepts and get the best out of his players. During his more than 25-year coaching career, he has made a name for himself as a very successful offensive coordinator and head coach on the collegiate level.”

Monken is certainly an outside-the-box hire, as there had been no reports linking him to Tampa Bay or any other NFL vacancies. But the move isn’t completely out of left field, as Monken has a history with Koetter —the pair worked together on the Jaguars’ staff from 2007-10 (Koetter as OC, Monken as WRs coach). For what it’s worth, that time in Jacksonville represents Monken’s only NFL experience.

In his first head coaching job, the 49-year-old Monken has certainly turned around the Southern Miss program, improving from a 1-11 record during his first season in 2013 to a 9-5 mark during last year’s campaign. He’ll step into an enviable position in Tampa, as the Buccaneers are equipped with a potential franchise quarterback in Jameis Winston, an elite receiver in Mike Evans, and a solid — but free agent — running back in Doug Martin.

Koetter has already announced that he will call the offensive plays for the Buccaneers, so Monken will presumably act in more of a game-planning and administrative role.