New Browns HC Todd Monken expands on relationship with Ravens QB Lamar Jackson

Recently hired Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken was in the final days of serving as the Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator when he suggested his working relationship with Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson could "have been better." 

During his Browns introductory news conference on Tuesday, Monken was asked about those comments.

Todd Monken offers update on his relationship with Lamar Jackson

"First of all, Lamar and my relationship was awesome," Monken said, per the Browns' website. "We get along great. We didn’t have the success last year, for a number of reasons, and it doesn’t matter. Fact. You know, he was banged up – I would have loved to have seen that he’d been healthy the whole year, but he was not. Doesn’t matter. We, at times, didn’t give ourselves the best chance to be successful. And you got to own that. That’s part of what we do."

Shortly after Baltimore fired head coach John Harbaugh in January, a report revealed that members of the Ravens "viewed Monken as increasingly standoffish and unwilling to collaborate with players." For that piece, Ravens sources also "expressed frustration over Monken’s decisions throughout" the 2025 season. Later, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti insisted he had been told by Jackson that the quarterback had no problems with either Monken or Harbaugh.

Harbaugh first brought Monken to the Ravens in 2023, and Jackson earned his second regular-season Most Valuable Player Award in his first campaign playing under Monken. More recently, Jackson was limited to 13 starts this season due to hamstring and back issues as the Ravens missed the playoffs. 

Todd Monken committed to improving as coach, leader

"I think I didn’t get to where I’m at, as a human being or a coach, without owning and then fighting like hell to fixing," Monken added during his response to the question about Jackson. "And I think that’s important in a relationship. I think that’s important in life."

The most important relationship regarding Monken's first season as Cleveland's head coach may involve young quarterback Shedeur Sanders. On Tuesday, Monken declined to commit to Sanders as the team's starter over veteran Deshaun Watson, 2025 rookie Dillon Gabriel or a to-be-acquired signal-caller.