Todd Monken is 60 years old, and instead of easing into retirement, he’s stepping into his first head coaching job in the NFL. The Cleveland Browns handed him the keys this offseason, and Monken isn’t wasting any time settling in — including cracking jokes about the coaching tree he’s leaving behind in Baltimore.
Monken spent three seasons as the Baltimore Ravens‘ offensive coordinator from 2023 to 2025, working alongside two-time MVP Lamar Jackson. Before that, he had already been through Cleveland once, serving as the Browns’ offensive coordinator in 2019 before leaving for Georgia. His coaching path also runs through Grand Valley State, Notre Dame, Eastern Michigan, Louisiana Tech, Oklahoma State, LSU, the Jacksonville Jaguars, Southern Miss and Tampa Bay — a resume built almost entirely on someone else’s headset until now.
When Monken left Baltimore for Cleveland, the Ravens turned to Declan Doyle to replace him as offensive coordinator. It’s Doyle’s first stint with the organization, and he joins new Ravens head coach Jesse Minter, who was hired in January. Both moves put Baltimore’s staff on a collision course with Monken’s new team twice a year in the AFC North.
Monken Traces His Roots Back to Notre Dame
According to ClutchPoints, Monken addressed his connection to both Doyle and Minter during an appearance on the “Ryan Ripken Show,” pointing out that he crossed paths with their fathers decades ago as a graduate assistant at Notre Dame in the early 1990s. Public coaching records confirm Monken did serve as a Notre Dame graduate assistant in that stretch, and Rick Minter — Jesse Minter’s father — later worked as the program’s defensive coordinator, giving the story a documented backbone even without an independently verified transcript of Monken’s exact wording.
ClutchPoints reported Monken framed the connection with some self-deprecating humor about his age, while stressing genuine respect for both Doyle and Minter as coaches. That mix of ribbing and sincerity has become part of how Monken talks about the people who make up the NFL’s smaller-than-it-looks coaching fraternity.
A Reluctant Reunion, Twice a Year
Per ClutchPoints’ report, Monken didn’t hide his frustration about running into Doyle and Minter as division rivals now that Doyle is calling plays for Baltimore. Doyle previously spent time with the New Orleans Saints and Denver Broncos before a one-year run as the Chicago Bears’ offensive coordinator in 2025. He left that job to join the Ravens on January 30, 2026, according to Wikipedia’s coaching database — a move that lines up with the timeline Monken referenced.
The AFC North doesn’t do anyone any favors when it comes to friendly faces. Cleveland and Baltimore play twice annually as division opponents, meaning Monken will now go head-to-head with two coaches he has personal history with, on a staff he used to call home, at least twice a season for as long as all three stay in their current jobs.
What Monken Inherits in Cleveland
Monken takes over a Browns team that spent six seasons under Kevin Stefanski, who led Cleveland to two playoff appearances during his tenure. ClutchPoints reported Monken has called this a “great time” to be with the Browns, pointing to the team’s youth on the roster as a reason for optimism heading into a rebuild-or-retool offseason.
Monken’s most recent extended public comments, made during that same Ryan Ripken Show appearance, also touched on his final season in Baltimore. He took ownership of the Ravens’ offensive regression in 2025 under Jackson, saying he didn’t coach Jackson well enough and that the two could have had a stronger working relationship — while pushing back directly on any suggestion the two had a personal falling out.
None of that history changes what’s ahead for Monken now. He’s building a staff, installing an offense, and trying to get Cleveland back into the playoff conversation — all while knowing two of his former assistants’ sons will be standing on the opposite sideline twice a year.
