Browns Retain Christian Jones In New Role

Todd Monken has been busy filling out his first NFL staff. In Cleveland, the offensive coordinator turned first-time head coach added three two new faces to his offensive staff and retained a respected coach from former head coach Kevin Stefanski‘s staff.

The familiar face sticking around is Christian Jones, who served as the Browns tight end coach in 2025. According to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, Jones is expected to remain on Monken’s staff in Cleveland but will work over a different group of pass catchers now as wide receivers coach. Jones came to Cleveland a year ago, leaving his previous role as assistant quarterbacks coach with the Giants.

In his first year with the Browns, he helped rookie third-round tight end Harold Fannin make an easy transition from college to the NFL. Despite several other receiving stars getting extra games in the College Football Playoffs, Fannin ended 2024 as the NCAA leader in receptions (117) and receiving yards (1,555), adding 10 touchdowns in 13 games. As a rookie competing with veteran David Njoku for targets, Fannin led the Browns in targets (107), receptions (72), receiving yards (731), and receiving touchdowns (6). Jones will now turn his attention to the team’s receiving corps, which should return its top receiving trio of Jerry Jeudy, Isaiah Bond, and Cedric Tillman.

On Thursday, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that former Pittsburgh offensive assistant Matt Baker is expected to join the Browns as assistant quarterbacks coach under new QB coach Mike Bajakian. Baker, formerly an undrafted quarterback who made stops on several practice squads from 2006 to 2009, turned to coaching when his playing career came to an end. After minor roles at Ole Miss and Western Michigan, Baker took a role as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Division-III John Carroll.

He made the jump to the NFL in 2023 as a special teams assistant with the Falcons in 2023 and spent the past two season in his most recent role with the Steelers. He’ll assist Monken, Bajakian, and company in navigating the tail end of Deshaun Watson‘s contract, the development of second-year passers Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, and the potential addition of more young quarterbacks through the draft.

The other addition to the offensive staff came today as Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reports that the team is expected to add Bobby Johnson as an assistant offensive line coach under new OL coach George Warhop. Johnson brings plenty of experience, having held OL coach duties at his last three stops in Buffalo, New York, and Washington. Unfortunately, he finds himself taking a step back into an assistant role after getting fired from his last two jobs. The Giants fired him after the team gave up the second-most sacks in NFL history (85) in 2023, and his first year with the Commanders saw the team give up the eighth-most sacks in the league that year.