“To me, it is pretty simple. I have always chosen places based on the people and the opportunity to win – at least I thought that with the decisions I have made in the past – and I won’t talk about other opportunities.”
To say that Todd Monken is excited to be the new offensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns would be an understatement. Despite not calling the plays for head coach Freddie Kitchens, there are many reasons why Monken left the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to join the Browns.
OC Todd Monken at the podium https://t.co/M2Aeow6brj
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) February 7, 2019
“When you look at the young roster and when I came and met with Freddie, (General Manager) John (Dorsey) and the other people in the organization, it just felt right. I felt like I wanted to be part of this moving forward,” Monken said. “In the end, it is about winning. It is about being around good people. It is about moving the football, regardless of who is calling it. I have called it in the past so it is not as if I am not capable of that.”
Baker Mayfield is high on Monken’s list. He is really excited to work with talented young signal caller.
“Obviously, on film, it is easy to see his skillset, his ability to make plays outside of the pocket and what he brings to the team in terms of mental toughness and the leadership – he inspires others to play around him and he holds himself and others to a high standard, which is where it has to start at quarterback. I am excited to get started,” Monken said. “Unfortunately, it will be a couple months away, but it is an exciting time.”
Monken is familiar with the ‘Air Raid’ offense. So will Mayfield get to run that style of offense? How can it be integrated into the offensive system?
“You had a certain amount of run game,” Monken said. “You ran a lot of the same concepts and you could throw to win. That was really it. Like any offense, it works a lot better if you have good players. That is really what it is about. It is about having good players and doing things the right way consistently so you do it better than they do it. It becomes a lot harder at the NFL level because you are going against the best in the world, windows are tighter and you are under duress a lot more so you have to be disciplined in terms of what you do on the perimeter.”
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5 things to know about our new OC Todd Monken ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/XyRJ9DmvJQ
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) February 7, 2019
Monken could also use some run pass option this season.
“I think ‘a lot’ is probably an extreme, but I think that is where football has been and that has been my background,” Monken said. “Hopefully, it is something that interests Freddie.”
So what about the rest of the talent on offense? Is there enough currently on the roster to surpass the seven wins in 2018?
“That is hard to say even this early without really even getting on the field because there is more to it than just looking at film. This is a developmental league. You are only going to get so many draft picks,” Monken said. “You’re only going to get so many free agents. You have to develop your younger players. It is maximizing players’ measurable skillsets. That is what you are paid to do is get the players to play at a high level.”
Will both Monken and Kitchens get along in 2019. We know how things were with Hue Jackson and Todd Haley for the first half of last season. Is there any chance for friction since Kitchens is calling the plays.
“I would say that it is early,” Monken said. “From what I have seen and what I have heard, I was excited to be a part of it. I think our personalities match, which is nice to be a part of. With that being said, I think our personalities in terms of as people are pretty close but also in terms of being aggressive offensively. When I watched what they did the last eight weeks of the year and how they went about it and organizationally, it was something that I wanted to be a part of.”
Scott Piker is the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Indians Managing Editor for Full Press Coverage.com. So follow him on twitter @ScottPikerSport
