Browns’ Finalized 2026 Coaching Staff Updates
Earlier this month, the Browns announced their finalized coaching staff under new head coach Todd Monken. Many of the bigger coaching hirings and changes were covered in earlier posts as they occurred, but here is the new information gleaned from the team’s March announcement. 
The biggest piece of new information was that defensive line coach Jacques Cesaire has been retained in his role for his third year with the Browns and his seventh in the NFL. It comes with little surprise as he joins a crew of familiar faces also retained on the defensive side of the ball and returns to coach over two-time Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett. The only other new information regarding a position coach concerns new tight ends coach Jeff Blasko. We were aware that Blasko had been hired to the role, but the announcement revealed that he will also hold the title of run game coordinator.
Three assistant position coaches were announced as new information. John Wozniak was hired to serve as the Browns’ new assistant wide receivers coach. Coming into his first NFL coaching gig, Wozniak brings 25 years of experience at the collegiate level including position coaching roles at UAB, Southern Miss, and Oklahoma State. On defense, Ralph Street was announced as the new assistant defensive line coach. He’ll arrive in Cleveland after five years as defensive line coach and run game coordinator at Marshall, where Ravens outside linebacker Mike Green led the NCAA with 17.0 sacks in 2024.
Additionally, Keith Tandy was hired as assistant special teams coach. The former NFL safety joins the Browns after serving in the same role for the past six seasons in Tampa Bay. There was also an update that changes the reported role of a presumed position coach. Originally, it was believed that defensive quality control coach Jeff Anderson had been promoted to nickelbacks coach. The team’s announcement clarifies that, while he has been promoted, his new title is defensive assistant/nickelbacks.
Joining Anderson is Zach Dunn, who was announced as defensive assistant/assistant linebackers coach. Dunn has been with Cleveland as a defensive assistant since 2020, and after working with Defensive Rookie of the Year Carson Schwesinger last year, the assistant linebackers coach duties have been added to his plate. On the offensive side of the ball, it was initially reported that assistant offensive line coach Sanders Davis had been retained in his role. The new announcement informs that his title has been adjusted to offensive assistant/offensive line.
The last pieces of new information come in the smaller roles on the coaching staff. On offense, we knew that Ian Kolste was joining Monken in the move from Baltimore to Cleveland, but we didn’t yet know his title. We now know that Kolste will be an offensive quality control coach. Additionally, Dom Borsani has been named an offensive analyst. Borsani has spent three years with the Browns, previously serving as a research and coaching analyst. He’s joined in his new role by Travis Monken. Son of the new boss, the junior Monken has two years of experience as an offensive quality control coach at Purdue.
Likewise, on defense, former NFL linebacker Paul Worrilow has been named a defensive quality control coach. Following his eight-year career playing for the Falcons, Lions, Eagles, Ravens, and Jets, Worrilow has spent the past four years as a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Delaware. Lastly, Shaq Wilson has been named a defensive analyst. After 10 years in minor roles at the college level, Wilson joined the Jets in 2023, working as a defensive assistant with the defensive line in his first year and with linebackers for the past two seasons.
These names put the final touches on the Monken’s first NFL staff in Cleveland. The staff will have its work cut out for it to climb out of the AFC North basement once again, but the group should get some time to figure things out as the team gets out from under some handicapping cap hits and uncertainty in the quarterbacks room.
Browns Hire Byron Storer As Special Teams Coordinator
New Browns head coach Todd Monken has found a special teams coordinator for his first staff. The Browns will hire Packers assistant ST coordinator Byron Storer, Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team first reported. Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com has since confirmed the news.
This will be Storer’s first time in charge of a special teams unit, though he has garnered extensive experience as an assistant. Before arriving in Green Bay in 2022, the former Buccaneers fullback helped coach ST groups with the Bucs (2010-11), Chargers (2012; he was also their assistant linebackers coach in ’13) and Raiders (2018-21).
Storer played for and worked for longtime ST coordinator Rich Bisaccia in Tampa Bay. After spending the past eight seasons assisting Bisaccia with the Raiders and Packers, Storer will take over in Cleveland for Bubba Ventrone. The Browns lost Ventrone to the Rams in late January.
In other staff news, the Browns are retaining running backs coach Duce Staley, per Tony Grossi of 850 ESPN. Assistant offensive line coach Sanders Davis will also return (via Cabot).
Staley’s known for his solid career as an Eagles and Steelers running back from 1997-2006, but the three-time 1,000-yard rusher has spent more time as a coach since he started as an assistant in Philadelphia in 2011. Next season will be Staley’s third with the Browns, while Davis will enter his second year with the team. Davis will work for new O-line coach George Warhop in 2026.
AFC North Coaching Updates: Ravens, Browns, Steelers
The Ravens defense got off to a slow start last year, and though they were able to finish strong down the stretch, disappointing veteran safeties and underwhelming linebacker play contributed to the team finishing second to last in pass defense. The team hired Tyler Santucci to act as the new linebackers coach after moving on from Mark DeLeone, and they continue to make changes to defensive coordinator Zach Orr‘s coaching staff.
Assisting Santucci will be Matt Pees, who has been named assistant inside linebackers coach, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. Pees rejoins his father, senior advisor Dean Pees, after working under him for two years in Atlanta. After three years as defensive assistant for the Falcons, the younger Pees spent 2024 as a defensive analyst (advance/special projects) for the Bears.
In the secondary, the team has moved on from secondary coach Doug Mallory, per Zrebiec. Replacing him, in a sense, will be Donald D’Alesio, according to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, who has been with the Chiefs for four seasons, the last three as safeties coach. In his three years at the job, he molded Bryan Cook and Justin Reid into starters. He’ll now work with star safety Kyle Hamilton and whomever the team brings in (or back) to play alongside him. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports that D’Alesio’s title will be defensive backs coach.
Here are a few more coaching updates from around the AFC North:
- The Browns announced a number of changes to their coaching staff yesterday. We already were aware of the additions of tight ends coach Christian Jones and assistant defensive line coach Adam Morris, as well as the shifting of Bill Musgrave to quarterbacks coach. The new information includes the shifting of assistant special teams coach Stephen Bravo-Brown to assistant wide receivers coach and offensive assistant/run game specialist Nick Charlton to pass game specialist. Additionally, Cleveland has hired Ben Wilkerson as assistant offensive line coach after he served in the same role for the Jets last year before being let go. Joining Wilkerson as an assistant offensive line coach is Sanders Davis. Davis has spent the last six seasons at Rice University, with the last four being as offensive line coach. This will be his first NFL coaching job. Lastly, Kyle Hoke has been hired as assistant special teams coach. A 13-year veteran of collegiate coaching, Hoke will debut in the NFL, after stops at Western Michigan, Army, South Carolina, John Carroll, Texas State, Indiana State, San Diego State, and Texas A&M.
- The Ravens aren’t the only AFC North team making changes to their secondary and linebacker coaching staffs. We learned a week ago that Gerald Alexander was being hired as the Steelers secondary coach, and we questioned the fate of sitting secondary coach Grady Brown. ESPN’s Brooke Pryor informed us this week that Brown’s contract was not renewed. The Steelers saw inside linebackers coach Aaron Curry depart for New York, and per Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, they will replace him with Scott McCurley. McCurley spent most of his coaching career in Green Bay from 2006-18 before eventually following Mike McCarthy to Dallas, where he spent the past five seasons coaching the likes of Leighton Vander Esch, Jaylon Smith, DeMarvion Overshown, and, of course, Micah Parsons.