Browns Hire Todd Monken As HC
11:30pm: Monken’s contract with the Browns will be five years in length, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. That has become the standard for new head coaching hires, with all of this year’s hires receiving a similar deal.
9:49am: Three-plus weeks after firing Kevin Stefanski, the Browns have found their next head coach. They’re hiring former Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports. The Browns have officially announced the move.
After the Browns canned Stefanski on Jan. 5, they sent their first known external interview request to Monken the next day. He booked a second interview with the Browns on Jan. 20 and became a finalist for the position, joining defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase.
The Browns told Scheelhaase they were going in another direction this morning, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. Scheelhaase will remain with the Rams in 2026, according to Fowler.
Schwartz had reportedly picked up momentum toward a promotion, but the Browns will instead go outside the organization and choose a fourth straight offensive-minded head coach. While Schwartz remains under contract with the Browns, there’s “no guarantee” he’ll stay in place, according to Fowler. Unsurprisingly, Schwartz is likely to draw widespread interest from across the NFL, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports relays.
With the 60-year-old Monken on his way in, the Browns haven’t hired a defense-first candidate since they handed the reins to Mike Pettine in 2014. Between Pettine’s two-year run and Stefanski’s six-season tenure, the Browns turned to Hue Jackson for a couple of disastrous campaigns and Freddie Kitchens during a one-and-done 2019. Monken was Cleveland’s offensive coordinator under Kitchens. The unit finished 22nd in scoring and total offense that year, making for an interesting reunion given the dysfunction that engulfed the Browns during Kitchens’ 2019 season in charge. Although Monken was not believed to be happy during that Kitchens-led season, he is coming back to Cleveland to run the show.
After his first stint with the Browns, Monken returned to the college ranks, where he has garnered most of his coaching experience since he began as a graduate assistant at Grand Valley State in 1989. Monken was Georgia’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2020-22, an eminently successful run in which the Bulldogs won two national championships.
Before the Browns brought him back, Monken spent the past three seasons running AFC North rival Baltimore’s offense. The Ravens boasted an elite offense during Monken’s first two years at the controls. Quarterback Lamar Jackson won the MVP award in 2023 and nearly repeated during a first-team All-Pro campaign in 2024. With injuries limiting Jackson to 13 games in 2025, the Ravens finished 11th in scoring and 16th in yards.
The Ravens fired head coach John Harbaugh after stumbling to an 8-9 record, and they didn’t interview Monken before hiring Jesse Minter. With Harbaugh now the Giants‘ head coach, it seemed likely Monken would follow him to New York as his offensive coordinator. Indeed, the team was “very confident” it would reel in Monken, per Connor Hughes of SNY. The Giants and Monken had even worked on a contract in recent days, Fowler adds, but Harbaugh will have to look elsewhere.
While Monken’s reputation as a coordinator precedes him, he’s largely an unknown as a head coach. His only experience in that position came with Southern Miss from 2013-15. The Golden Eagles combined for a dismal 4-20 mark in Monken’s first two seasons, but they made a huge leap to 9-5 in his last year on the job. Monken then departed to become the Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator, and Southern Miss hasn’t reached nine wins in any season since then.
In his first head coaching role in the NFL, Monken will face another daunting task in attempting to reverse the Browns’ fortunes. Stefanski earned Coach of the Year honors twice and led the Browns to two playoffs appearances, most recently in 2023, but posted a horrid 8-26 record over the past two seasons. The Browns’ Schwartz-coached defense ranked fourth in yards allowed in 2025, though an offense that finished 30th in yards and 31st in scoring doomed the club to a 5-12 mark.
Monken worked with a superstar quarterback in Baltimore, but he won’t have that luxury in Cleveland – at least not at first. Shedeur Sanders may be the frontrunner to start 2026 after finishing this season as the Browns’ No. 1 option. While Sanders oddly received a Pro Bowl invitation as a sub, the fifth-round rookie didn’t prove himself as a slam-dunk answer during his first seven starts in Cleveland. Meanwhile, third-round rookie Dillon Gabriel fared worse than Sanders before suffering a concussion against the Ravens in Week 11.
Along with Sanders and Gabriel, Deshaun Watson could also factor in to some degree after missing all of this season while recovering from a ruptured Achilles. The Browns’ decision to trade a bounty of picks to the Texans in 2022 and immediately hand Watson $230MM in guarantees was a head-scratcher from the get-go, and it has aged like milk since then.
Watson has made 19 mostly underwhelming starts in a Browns uniform over four years. Even though the former star signal-caller is due to count $80.72MM against the Browns’ cap next season, they’re likely stuck with him. It would cost the Browns an eye-popping $131.16MM in dead money to release Watson in 2026.
General manager Andrew Berry, who acquired Watson, is confident Monken is the right fit for Cleveland.
“Todd has a varied and diverse background that we found as a particularly appealing match for our team at this stage in its life cycle,” Berry said on Wednesday. “He has a direct, demanding, and detail-oriented leadership style that will create a great incubator for a young team. His successful offensive track record at both the pro and college level with a variety of offensive systems and QB skill sets will allow maximum flexibility as we make several, long-term investments on that side of the ball.”
Berry’s statement suggests the Browns will exercise patience with Monken, which will be necessary in the short term. With the Browns holding two first-round picks this year, including the sixth overall selection, Berry will be in position to give Monken more young talent to work with in 2026.
Browns DC Jim Schwartz Wants Out; 49ers Among Potential Suitors
Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz was among three finalists for the Browns‘ head coaching job before they announced their choice Wednesday. As of Monday, Schwartz was reportedly “gaining momentum” for a promotion, but the team instead passed on him and Rams assistant Nate Scheelhaase in favor of ex-Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken. The decision isn’t sitting well with Schwartz.
Although Schwartz is still under contract with the Browns, he has informed those close to him that he wants out of Cleveland, according to Rapoport of NFL Network. Mike Garafolo of NFL Network and Jordan Schultz pass along similar information.
Schwartz’s contract status prevents him from taking another job, but a source told Schultz, “If it has to get ugly, Schwartz is someone who will be perfectly fine making it ugly.”
It probably won’t get to that point, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports says. In an ideal world for the Browns, Schwartz will stay in his current post. If Schwartz truly wants out, though, Jones doesn’t expect the Browns to turn this into a “hostage” situation. The sense in the building is that there’s “no chance” Schwartz will be back in 2026, Schultz adds.
If Schwartz does head elsewhere in 2026, San Francisco is among the teams that could pursue the 59-year-old, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. It’s a situation the 49ers are “undoubtedly monitoring,” Nick Wagoner of ESPN relays. Schwartz would replace former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who left to become the Titans’ head coach. Kyle Shanahan identified assistant head coach Gus Bradley as an “obvious” successor to Saleh last week, but with Schwartz potentially about to hit the market, that may change.
The 49ers are just one possibility for Schwartz, who will surely land on multiple teams’ radars if his divorce with the Browns goes through. While Schwartz had a largely unsuccessful run as the Lions’ head coach from 2009-13, he has long been one of the game’s top assistants on the defensive side. A longtime D-coordinator in Tennessee before he moved to Detroit, Schwartz has worked on defensive staffs with the Bills, Eagles (with whom he won Super Bowl LII), Titans and Browns since 2014.
The Browns finished No. 1 in total defense under Schwartz in 2023, his first year as their coordinator. The unit took steps backward last year, but it was fourth in total defense and 14th in points allowed in 2025. Defensive end Myles Garrett set the single-season sack record with 23, and he has made his affinity for Schwartz known in the past.
“(I) love Jim and I love playing for him,” Garrett told Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com earlier this month.
Garrett requested a trade in early February of last year, though he wound up signing a four-year, $160MM extension a month later. The Browns went on to win just five games in 2025, though, and Garrett made it clear toward the end of the season he’s not interested in a rebuild. Whether Garrett believes a potential Schwartz exit would damage the Browns’ chances of competing in 2026 is unknown, but we may hear his opinion soon enough.
Offseason Outlook: Houston Texans
Reaching the divisional round for the third straight season, the DeMeco Ryans-era Texans assembled one of the best defenses to come through the NFL in many years. Houston's defense stampeded to a No. 1 ranking in yards and EPA per play in Ryans' third year. That unit arguably made this the best team in Texans history, as the 12-4 2012 operation may be its only competition. But a concerning conclusion to C.J. Stroud's third season impeded Ryans' troops.
Stroud becoming a turnover machine in the playoffs prevented the Texans from competing closely with a Patriots team that accomplished little on offense in Round 2. While the Texans have struggled to give their franchise quarterback a solid offensive line, Stroud's regression from a standout rookie season has become a front-burner issue. And this offseason represents the first window to decide on Stroud extension value. Suddenly, there are questions about where this process will go.
Coaching/front office:
- Team to retain OC Nick Caley; staff changes in play
- DC Matt Burke interviewed for Cardinals' HC position
Bobby Slowik has since returned to the OC tier, being promoted by the Dolphins over the weekend despite Miami hiring a new head coach. The Texans canned Slowik after Stroud's sophomore step back. Rumblings about the team firing Caley did not produce another change, but Ryans effectively called out his OC shortly after the New England loss. One of many ex-Sean McVay staffers to move up the ladder, Caley will enter the 2026 season on the hot seat.
Jets To Hire Brian Duker As DC
The Jets have put an end to a drawn-out defensive coordinator search. They’re hiring former Dolphins pass game coordinator Brian Duker, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
The 36-year-old Duker was not publicly on the radar for the Jets’ job until they held a virtual interview with him on Tuesday. He’ll now reunite with head coach Aaron Glenn, whom he teamed with in Detroit from 2021-23. Glenn was the Lions’ defensive coordinator then, while Duker served as a defensive assistant, safeties coach and defensive backs coach.
After helping develop Lions safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch, Duker left for Miami. He spent two years with the Dolphins, but with new head coach Jeff Hafley and his staff coming in, Duker will exit to take on a bigger role with a different AFC East team in 2026.
Duker became the ninth coach to interview for the Jets’ DC gig, a position that once looked likely to go to the experienced Don “Wink” Martindale. Although Martindale was the only candidate who landed a second interview, he and the Jets didn’t close the deal. Glenn’s preference to call the defensive plays had something to do with it, Connor Hughes of SNY reports. It’s also part of the reason why Broncos pass game coordinator Jim Leonhard was “never an option” despite also interviewing with the Jets.
At the outset of the search, Glenn did not make it known that he intended to call plays in 2026, but plans changed along the way, per Hughes. Duker, who has no play-calling experience, will act as Glenn’s second in command next season. The duo will aim for more successful results after the Jets finished the year 25th in yards, 31st in points, and somehow failed to intercept a single pass.
The Jets’ defensive struggles led to the mid-December firing of Steve Wilks. Defensive backs coach/pass game coordinator Chris Harris replaced Wilks for the final three games of the season, but the Jets allowed a whopping 106 points in that span. Harris nonetheless interviewed for the full-time role, but Glenn will turn to Duker instead.
Chargers Hire Chris O’Leary As DC
The Chargers have found their replacement for Jesse Minter. Western Michigan defensive coordinator Chris O’Leary has accepted the same position on Jim Harbaugh‘s staff, per a team announcement.
O’Leary, 34, previously worked under Harbaugh and Minter as the Chargers’ safeties coach in 2024. As Western Michigan’s defensive coordinator, he took the nation’s 107th-ranked defense and built them into a top-10 unit in just one season. After a year of play-calling experience, O’Leary will return to Los Angeles hoping to fill Minter’s shoes after he took a head coaching job with the Ravens.
O’Leary’s recent experience with the Chargers should make for an easy transition into his new role. He will run a similar scheme to Minter and is already familiar with the roster and coaching staff. The latter may not require much turnover with such a plug-and-play hire, though the team’s defensive assistants who did not get this promotion may get defensive coordinator offers from other teams.
Though O’Leary will be working under Harbaugh, his coaching lineage is closer to his predecessor’s. Minter and O’Leary have a long history together, starting at Indiana State. The two overlapped for three years (2010-2012) with Minter serving as the Sycamores’ defensive coordinator and O’Leary playing wide receiver. Minter became Georgia State’s defensive coordinator in 2013 and, two years later, gave O’Leary his first coaching job as a graduate assistant.
They parted ways in 2017 with Minter heading to Baltimore for his first stint with the Ravens and O’Leary joining Brian Kelly‘s staff at Notre Dame. After Marcus Freeman took over as the Fighting Irish’s defensive coordinator, O’Leary was promoted to safeties coach, where he worked closely with pass game coordinator Mike Mickens. (Mickens recently agreed to join Minter’s staff in Baltimore in the same role.)
Minter then brought O’Leary to Los Angeles. He worked closely with Derwin James, taking the already-versatile safety and moving him around the field more than ever before. The 2024 season represented somewhat of a resurgence for five-time Pro Bowler after a down year in 2023, at least by his usual standards. With more time closer to the line of scrimmage, James led all defensive backs with 5.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss, both career-highs. He also broke up seven passes and allowed just 5.2 yards per target. James stayed in a similar role in 2025 and had another strong season, earning Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro recognition for the second year in a row.
O’Leary will be looking to uphold the standard he helped established in 2024. The Chargers have been one of the best defenses in the league in the last two years, allowing just under 19 points and just over 300 yards per game. They have a number of key pending free agents and may not have enough cap room to retain them all, especially if they invest in their offensive line as expected. Minter had a knack for getting the most out of his players – youngsters and veterans alike – and O’Leary’s impressive year at Western Michigan suggests that he may have similar talents.
The only potential knock on O’Leary is his inexperience. 2024 was his first year in the NFL, and 2025 was his first as a play-caller, making 2026 a big leap for a third year in a row. He passed the first two tests with flying colors, so he certainly seems capable of running the Chargers’ defense, but there may still be some first-year jitters as O’Leary settles into the role.
Titans To Hire QBs Coach Shea Tierney, OL Coach Carmen Bricillo
New Titans offensive coordinator Brian Daboll has started filling his staff, with multiple of his former Giants assistants set to join him in Tennessee.
Shea Tierney will be the Titans’ next quarterbacks coach, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. He held the same role in New York and spent the previous four years working under Daboll in Buffalo. Tierney was a Bills offensive assistant in 2018 and 2019 before a promotion to assistant quarterbacks coach in 2020. He worked closely with Josh Allen during that time and later coached several different passers in New York, including Jaxson Dart and Daniel Jones.
Tierney will be tasked with developing 2025 No. 1 pick Cam Ward, who had a rough rookie year with little talent around him. He led the league in sacks, sack yardage, and fumbles, and the Titans were a bottom-three team in nearly every offensive category.
Daboll will also be bringing former Giants offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo to Tennessee, according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. After rising through the college coaching ranks, he joined the Patriots as an offensive assistant in 2019. He was promoted to co-offensive line coach in 2020 and held the position on his own the following season. Bricillo then followed Josh McDaniels to Las Vegas and served as the Raiders’ offensive line coach for two years before joining Daboll in New York.
Bricillo is a well-respected coach around the league. John Harbaugh‘s decision not to retain him drew some criticism, especially with Harbaugh’s original target for his offensive line coach, George Warhop, set to join Todd Monken in Cleveland. In Tennessee, he will work with recent first-round picks Peter Skoronski and JC Latham, as well as veteran left tackle Dan Moore Jr.
For his new wide receivers coach, Daboll is making an outside hire. Greg Lewis will be leaving Baltimore for Tennesseee after three years on Todd Monken’s offensive staff in the same role, per NFL insider Jordan Schultz. Lewis played a key role in the development of Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers and also oversaw Rashod Bateman‘s breakout 2024 campaign. Before that, he spent six years in Kansas City, working with their running backs and receivers and earning two Super Bowl rings in the process. The Titans will be hoping Lewis can quickly develop young wide receivers Elic Ayomanor, Chimere Dike, and Xavier Restrepo into more reliable targets for Ward.
With Tierney, Bricillo, and Lewis in hand, Daboll seems to building a strong foundation for the Titans’ offense as the franchise enters the Robert Saleh era.
Buccaneers Talked To Sean McDermott About Position On Staff
While it seems likelier than not that Sean McDermott will sit out the 2026 campaign, that won’t stop teams from approaching the former Bills head coach about new opportunities. That includes the Buccaneers, who recently talked to McDermott about joining Todd Bowles‘ staff, per Greg Auman of FOX Sports.
Despite Tampa Bay’s interest, Auman notes that McDermott isn’t expected to coach in 2026. Instead, the 51-year-old is expected to re-assess his options during the 2027 offseason. This echoes a report from the other day that indicated that McDermott could sit out the upcoming campaign, although there were some previous rumblings that he could dive right back into coaching.
Tampa Bay would be a logical landing spot for McDermott. Bowles hasn’t employed a traditional defensive coordinator since he earned a promotion from that role in 2022, with the head coach still preferring to call plays on that side of the ball. However, the team could have still eyed McDermott for a significant role on the staff, especially after the Buccaneers saw three defensive coaches depart this offseason (cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross and defensive line coach Charlie Strong were fired while safeties coach Nick Rapone retired).
McDermott also has some connections to the organization. He overlapped with current Buccaneers GM Jason Licht when the two worked for the Eagles, and he also interviewed for the head coaching job in 2016.
McDermott does have coordinator experience, as he was responsible for the defense during stints with the Eagles and Panthers. More likely, he’ll garner some head coaching interest next offseason. After getting fired by the Bills, the coach reportedly received “positive reviews” from those who took a year off from coaching following their ousters, and it appears that McDermott is planning on following the same path.
Chargers To Hire OL Coach Butch Barry
The Chargers are starting to fill out Mike McDaniel‘s offensive staff, starting with his offensive line coach.
Butch Barry, who spent the last three years as the Dolphins’ offensive line coach, will take up the same position in Los Angeles, per NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe. Barry previously worked with McDaniel as the 49ers’ assistant offensive line coach during McDaniel’s final season in San Francisco
In Miami, Barry worked closely with left tackle Patrick Paul and center Aaron Brewer in Miami, with both making noticeable improvements from 2024 to 2025, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Before that, he served as the Broncos’ offensive line coach in 2023 after a two-year stint in San Francisco.
Barry is replacing veteran offensive line coach Mike Devlin, who worked with the Jets’, Texans’ and Ravens’ offensive lines. Devlin worked under Greg Roman in Baltimore in 2022 and joined his staff in Los Angeles in 2024. The Chargers had one of the best tackle duos in the NFL in 2024, but when both Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt suffered season-ending injuries this past season, the rest of the O-line was badly exposed. The interior spots – primarily held by Zion Johnson, Bradley Bozeman, and Mekhi Becton – were already shaky, and losing the best bookends in the league proved too much to recover from. The Chargers allowed 60 sacks, the second-most of any team in 2025, and Justin Herbert suffered a few injuries as a result.
Barry will be tasked with improving the unit, which may prove difficult right away. The Chargers have not provided a timeline for Slater’s return, but the severity of his injury – a torn patellar tendon – could put his availability for 2026 in doubt. Alt’s timeline is similarly unclear, but his recovery from surgery to repair a high ankle sprain should not take as long. Alt can hold down the blind side until Slater gets back on the field, but Los Angeles will still need a right tackle during that period. They could also change out multiple interior offensive linemen – potentially all three – which will require Barry to identify and coach up replacements who fit in McDaniel’s scheme.
Jets Complete Five OC Interviews
After moving on from offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand yesterday, the Jets have officially kicked off their search in full force. The team announced that they’ve completed interviews with five candidates. Three names on the list are new: Dolphins quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator Darrell Bevell, Bills QBs coach Ronald Curry, and recent Chargers OC Greg Roman. The two other names are Lunda Wells, whose interview we learned about this morning, and Frank Reich, who was previously mentioned as a potential option.
[RELATED: Jets, OC Tanner Engstrand Part Ways]
Bevell has spent the past four seasons as Miami’s QBs coach and passing game coordinator. He helped guide Tua Tagovailoa to a ninth-place finish in MVP voting during his first season at the helm, and he saw the former first-round pick later pace the NFL in passing yards (4,624 in 2023) and completion percentage (72.9 in 2024). Tagovailoa’s numbers took a notable step back in 2025, including a career-high 3.9 interception rate. While that performance may lead to some changes in Miami in 2026, it apparently didn’t do enough to ruin Bevell’s reputation.
Following a brief stop with the 49ers to begin his coaching career, Curry climbed the coaching ladder in New Orleans. As a receivers coach, he helped guide Michael Thomas to two of the most productive seasons of his career, and he led a QBs room in 2021 that relied on three different starters (Jameis Winston, Trevor Siemian, and Taysom Hill). He earned a promotion to passing game coordinator in 2022 and was responsible for passing attacks led by Andy Dalton and Derek Carr. He moved to the Bills ahead of Josh Allen‘s MVP season in 2024, and he got a career-high 69.3 completion percentage from the star QB in 2025.
Roman was recently fired by the Chargers following a three-point showing in the team’s Wild Card Round loss to the Patriots. Before that, the veteran coach had stints as offensive coordinator in Baltimore, Buffalo, and San Francisco. He also served as the associate head coach at Stanford under Jim Harbaugh. Considering the Jets’ uncertainty at quarterback, it’s worth noting that Roman has successfully worked alongside a wide range of QBs throughout his coaching career. While he recently had an experienced play-caller in Justin Herbert, he’s helped guide young QBs (like Lamar Jackson and Colin Kaepernick) and journeymen (like Tyrod Taylor).
Before the Jets and Engstrand parted ways, there were rumblings that Aaron Glenn was planning to strip the OC of his play-calling duties while seeking a replacement. Reich was the first coach connected to the gig, and the team was reportedly “progressing” in conversations with the former Colts and Panthers head coach. The 64-year-old remains the favorite for the role. Wells joined the fray this morning, with the Cowboys TEs coach garnering his third OC interview of this year’s cycle. One name that’s rejected the team’s overtures is Jon Gruden, who would have certainly fit Glenn’s desire to find a “head coach” for the unit.
Whoever ends up getting hired for the open OC job will have a tall task of turning around a Jets offense that finished bottom-four in yards and scoring this past season. The team’s QB approach remains uncertain following the failed Justin Fields experiment, and running back Breece Hall is set to hit free agency. Fortunately, the Jets do have some foundational pieces, including a solid offensive line, star wideout Garrett Wilson, and promising rookie TE Mason Taylor.
NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/28/26
Today’s reserve/futures move:
Tennessee Titans
A former sixth-round pick by the Bengals, Trey Hill got into 25 games in Cincinnati, starting three of those appearances. After spending most of the 2024 campaign on the Bengals practice squad, he spent last offseason with the Packers organization, although he ended up being cut loose at the end of the preseason. He later signed with the Bears practice squad, where he spent most of the 2025 season.