Todd Monken made his new Browns job personal fast. After Lamar Jackson texted congratulations, Monken told him, “We are going to blitz you every third down.” The line came after nearly six months of separation from Baltimore, where he had just finished a run that ended in a firing.
Jackson Gets the Message
Monken said he answered Jackson’s congratulatory text with, “Then I said, ‘go f--- yourself,’” before adding the blitz threat. Jackson laughed, but the message was plain: Cleveland’s new head coach is already sketching out how he wants to attack his former quarterback in future Browns-Ravens meetings.
The exchange matters because Monken is no longer speaking as a Ravens assistant looking at Jackson from the same sideline. He is the Browns’ head coach now, and the competitive split is immediate. The next time Jackson faces him, the down-and-distance call could be the first clue about how Cleveland wants to force the issue.
Ravens Success Ended Fast
Monken’s comments also sit beside a Ravens offense that piled up numbers before the season went sideways. In 2024, Baltimore finished first in the NFL in yards per game at 424.9 and third in scoring at 30.5 points per contest. The Ravens went 12-5, then lost to the Bills in the Divisional Round in Buffalo.
The 2025 season brought a different kind of pressure. Lamar Jackson missed an extended stretch with injuries, and Tyler Huntley stepped in to go 2-0 as a starter. Monken said, “I can say this: The coaching staff and our preparation never changed,” adding, “We worked our balls off.”
Week 18 Pressure
That season still ended with a Week 18 trip to Pittsburgh, where the Ravens faced the Steelers with Monken directing the offense from the booth. Jackson led the final drive that set up a game-winning field-goal chance, but Tyler Loop missed the kick that would have secured the AFC North crown. Harbaugh and Monken were fired after the loss.
Monken has not softened his view of the job or the exit. “It tells you how fickle, just in general, life is,” he said. “From the year before, if you'd have told me that we'd have been fired after the year we had offensively...” He added, “But ultimately, everything has a shelf life.”
He also pointed to Huntley’s place in that stretch, saying, “And for them to come out and play their ass off, play physical? Hell, Snoop saved our season twice. He saved our season against the Bears when we were 1-5, and he saved our season against Green Bay. And that's a real credit to him for a guy that wasn't even with us at the start of the season.”
Now Monken is in Cleveland, and the next layer is simple: Jackson already knows the first answer he is likely to see. Every third down is the part Monken says he wants to attack.
