There were a ton of touching moments from the NFL Draft that wrapped up on Saturday of last week, and just as many soundbytes from coaches and owners about their draft class and the guys signed to come participate in camp and compete for a roster spot.
While all that is undeniable, it was a moment from Todd Monken that caught my attention.
The history of head coaches that have led the Cleveland franchise for at least one season dating back to 2002 ranks near the top of the NFL in terms of head coaching turnover, with only the Raiders going through more head coaches. The Browns have hired 10 different guys, while the Raiders have had 13 different men lead their franchise onto the field.
Browns head coaches since 2002 include names like Butch Davis, (2001-04), Romeo Crennell (2005-08), Eric Mangini (2009-10), Pat Shurmur (2011-12), Rob Chudzinski (2013), Mike Pettine (2014-15), Hue Jackson (2016-18), Freddie Kitchens (2019), and most recently two-time NFL Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanksi (2020-25) who has since landed with the Falcons as their head coach.
Todd Monken, who ironically served as the team's offensive coordinator under Kitchens back in 2019, became the 11th head coach of the team since 2002 when he was hired back in late January. Fresh off a stint as the offensive coordinator for John Harbaugh and the Ravens for three seasons, Monken made waves at the college level with a three-year stint as the offensive coordinator at Georgia, helping Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs to back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022 before returning to the NFL as a play caller.
Over the weekend, while discussing the first draft class under his leadership, and how his role in the room has changed from advocating for picks to help them score points as a coordinator, to now focused on picks that will help them win games in the head coaching chair, Monken also had a moment of swagger that Browns fans seemed to have really enjoyed on social media.
What started as a question from the media about their two-day mini camp that were closed to reporters and how quarterbacks Shadeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel looked, opened the door for Monken to rave about being on the field with his guys, and a bit about his thoughts on Berea as the location for their mini camp.
"First off, it was an awesome three days. The weather was unbelievable, to get out on the grass, and to pump the music and get fired up being together. The neighbors complained, and we didn't care. So we pumped up the music louder. If they don't like it, they can move."
Monken would go on to answer the question posed on the quarterbacks, but it was that interaction about the music that really caught my attention. It will rub plenty of folks the wrong way, but for a franchise that has went through head coaches at an alarming clip, I - for one - found it refreshing.
Here's to hoping the 60-year old veteran of the coaching profession brings just what the franchise needs to stop the revolving door of coaches for the storied franchise.