After seven weeks of the 2026 NFL season, the Cleveland Browns are 5-2 and sitting atop a stacked AFC North division. It’s safe to say no one saw this coming, so a ton of credit goes to first-year head coach Todd Monken.
Browns general manager Andrew Berry gave Monken a talented young roster, and he has quickly built them into a good football team.
The head coach did that by establishing a caring culture of accountability, and what makes it really effective is that not even Monken is above reproach. Monken isn’t afraid to call things like he sees them, and that includes when he comes up short as well.
While every head coach gives blanket statements about how they have to be better, Monken has publicly called himself out for situations where he was wrong.
Todd Monken isn’t afraid to admit when he’s wrong, and that’s helping the Browns win
Monken has had two instances in the last two weeks where he explicitly called himself out in front of the media or the team. The first came after Cleveland’s Week 6 win over the Baltimore Ravens, where Jerry Jeudy came up big late in the game to help the Browns secure the victory.
Early in the season, Jeudy wasn’t involved in the offense much, and ...