The Opening Drive 1/29: Browns Land On Todd Monken, Schwartz Threatens To Walk, Plus Staffing News
A look at the surprising end to the browns coaching search and the staffing news that followed on Wednesday.
The Browns’ coaching search led them to Nate Scheelhaase, but, in Browns fashion, they could not follow through on their process and make the hire. According to Jeremy Fowler, they informed Scheelhasse on Wednesday morning that they would not be hiring him. Later in the morning, the Browns announced the hire of Todd Monken as their next head coach.
With the back-and-forth rumors of the last 72 hours, it’s hard to fathom how they landed on Monken. At first, it made sense that they realized adding an offensive coach of consequence would be difficult without offering the head coaching job. Monken was the only one open to keeping Jim Schwartz on as the defensive coordinator, so this was some kind of compromise between Andrew Berry and Jimmy Haslam, who has his fingerprints all over the final days of this search. This still may have been the case, but we received news about Schwartz soon after the hire was announced.
Tom Pelissero reported that the Browns informed DC Jim Schwartz on Wednesday morning that they were not naming him the head coach and instead going with Todd Monken. Sources have told Insiders that Schwartz was visibly upset, said goodbyes to people in the building, and told fellow coaches that he’s not coming back. Schwartz is under contract, and the Browns want to retain him. Jeremy Fowler has stated that this situation is fluid.
It’s clear Schwartz wanted the job and was using whatever leverage he had to influence the final decision. I don’t know to what level Haslam believed he would leave the way he did. This situation now lingers over the hire; although the Browns cannot wait forever, they need to act to assemble a staff.
Todd Monken’s Offensive Philosophy: QB-First, Space-Driven, Adaptive
At the core of Todd Monken’s offensive approach, the quarterback is the engine. His offenses are built to flow through decision-making, spacing, and clarity, rather than relying on the run game to manufacture passing opportunities. The goal is to put the quarterback in command of the offense from the opening snap, not to ask him to wait for ideal conditions to appear.
Monken’s systems are rooted in spread concepts, while wide alignments and intentional spacing force defenses to declare coverage, lighten the box, and reveal areas of weakness before the ball is snapped. This spacing is paired with pre-snap motion and formation variation, giving the quarterback early information about whether he’s facing man or zone and simplifying the mental load once the play begins.
The passing game itself is aggressive but controlled. Monken emphasizes defined progressions and clear answers within the play’s structure. Quarterbacks are not asked to play hero ball or survive on improvisation. Instead, they are given layered reads, built-in outlets, and the confidence to attack intermediate and downfield windows without exposing the offense to unnecessary risk.
Importantly, the run game in a Monken offense is not abandoned; it is used as a weapon in the offensive arsenal. The run exists to punish defensive looks and overreactions rather than to define the offense’s identity. When defenses spread out to handle the passing stress, the run becomes efficient and explosive by design, not volume.
What separates Monken from rigid system builders is adaptability. His offense is built on frameworks, not scripts. Core concepts remain familiar to players, but the way those concepts are presented changes constantly. Personnel shapes the emphasis, not the other way around, allowing the offense to evolve without losing structure or clarity.
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