Shortly before the news broke on Jan. 28 that Todd Monken would be the new head coach for the Browns, Jeff Monken received a text from his cousin that shared the news. As Jeff read the message, he jumped out of his chair, delighted by the announcement and the new opportunity for his cousin.

On the premier episode for 2026 of the Best Podcast Available, presented by Bullseye Event Group, Andrew Siciliano talked with Army West Point head coach Jeff Monken, cousin of Browns new head coach Todd Monken, about Todd's new role.

"I think there's certainly a lot of credibility to a coach that has a lot of experience and he's got a lot of experience," Jeff said. "He's got head coaching experience. He's got a number of years coaching the NFL and coordinating and been extremely successful. He's been around some great coaches. He's really organized. He's a technician. He's a teacher and he's going to be great for that organization. And so, he's earned it. He's earned this opportunity, and if he didn't, he wouldn't be in the position he is right now."

Todd and Jeff come from a coaching family that stems not only from their fathers, but also to their uncles and cousins.

Jeff's father, Mike, was a longtime high school football coach in Illinois at Joliet East High School and Joliet Central High School for more than 30 years. Todd's father, Bob – and brother of Mike – was the high school football coach at Lake Park High School in Illinois for 30 years. Their three other brothers were also high school football coaches, and all five brothers are in the Illinois High School Coaches Hall of Fame. Among the five brothers, they had seven sons – all who also coached or are still coaching.

"It's just a tremendous source of pride for our family," Jeff said. "It's a football family and he's the pride of our family in the coaching profession."

Jeff has served as the head coach of Army West Point for 12 seasons, beginning in 2014. He first began his coaching career as a graduate assistant in Hawaii in 1989, working his way up through different position coach roles at collegiate programs along the way before he earned his first head coach role at Georgia Southern in 2010 – a role he held until 2013.

He has watched Todd's coaching career take off, from the early days as Todd began his coaching career also in 1989 as a graduate assistant for two seasons at Grand Valley State, to his previous role as the Ravens offensive coordinator for three seasons. He has seen how he handled the responsibilities of being a head coach at Southern Miss from 2013-15, to the job as Georgia's offensive coordinator from 2020-22.

Now as Todd embarks on the next step of his coaching career as the head coach of the Browns – his first NFL head coach position – Jeff believes each stop along the way will help Todd succeed in Cleveland.

"I know that he'll do a great job at reigniting that offense," Jeff said. "He's a tremendous football coach. He's really smart, really innovative. And what I've been so impressed with him over the years is just how he's adapted to the personnel. He's adapted to the situation and the program. He was different at Southern Miss than he was at Georgia, different personnel and different quarterback. But I think that's what he does so well. He finds a way to run the ball really effectively, which always impresses me. People can draw up a bunch of pass plays and pass routes and all those things, but finding a way to run the football effectively, particularly in the NFL, which I think is really challenging. I think he does a great job with that."

When Todd was the offensive coordinator for the Browns in 2019, he led an offense that featured former Browns RB Nick Chubb, who produced the league's second-most rushing yards at 1,494 and recorded eight touchdowns.

As the Browns roster currently sits, the running back room consists of second-year players Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson. Judkins led the team with 827 rushing yards and seven touchdowns and finished third among all NFL rookies in rushing yards and tied for fourth in rushing touchdowns. Sampson added 175 rushing yards and 271 receiving yards with two touchdowns.

Now as he looks to revamp the Browns' offense for the 2026 season, Jeff believes Todd will stay true to who he is as a person and as a coach.

"He's always been extremely competitive, and he's always been a tremendous leader," Jeff said. "I watched him play high school games and I've watched him coach and just does a great job with the people around him and getting the most out of the people around him. He did it as a player, he's done it as a coach. As I said, he's a teacher, he's a technician, very detailed and demanding. He wants the best out of people and I think people that do that effectively, they find a way to be successful, and he always has. So, what you've seen is what you're going to get. And what he was in 2019, he'll be in 2026. I'm excited for the Browns and the players and the organization and the coaches and everybody. He'll be a great leader."