Just because Todd Monken passed on the New York Giants’ offensive coordinator role to be the Cleveland Browns head coach doesn’t mean he’s out of the picture in East Rutherford. Not entirely, anyway.
The 60-year-old was widely considered to be Big Blue's next OC once the team hired John Harbaugh as its HC, due to their shared history with the Baltimore Ravens -- Monken had been Harby's OC for the past three years with the Ravens. Eventually, Harbaugh pivoted to uninspiring Matt Nagy as his backup OC. But since Monken landed the Browns' head coaching job, it hasn’t exactly been a clean break from his former boss.
Monken already stole offensive line coach George Warhop from Harbaugh, bringing the former Ravens assistant with him to Cleveland. And as if that wasn’t enough, NFL insider Mike Garafolo reported that Monken might only be getting started, with the latest wrinkle involving Giants outside linebackers coach and former interim defensive coordinator Charlie Bullen:
Another interview request for #Giants assistant coach Charlie Bullen. The #Browns have asked to interview him for their defensive coordinator job, source says. Bullen is also in the mix for the #AZCardinals’ DC gig. pic.twitter.com/8rE5tBXWPR
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) February 9, 2026
Todd Monken is quietly making life harder for John Harbaugh's Giants staff
Like, dude, just go away. The Arizona Cardinals can, too, for that matter. Why are you sniffing around Charlie Bullen? He was doing his job just fine as Big Blue’s outside linebackers coach before you decided to start hovering. I’m not saying Todd Monken moonlights as the fun police, but I'm not not saying it.
As a quick aside, I’m willing to be the bigger person and move on from my completely one-sided, very personal gripe with Monken if he drops this Bullen nonsense.
The 41-year-old burst onto the scene as the interim DC once Shane Bowen was fired after Week 12. Once Bullen took over, the defense improved drastically. He threw out the old method of trying to fit square pegs into round holes by putting his best players in positions to make plays, rather than forcing them into his system.
He earned the praise of pass-rushers Brian Burns and Abdul Carter, and when Harbs was building his new staff in his vision, he clearly saw a place for Bullen on it. And now Monken wants to ruin it.
Cleveland is in an interesting spot, DC-wise. Before they committed to Monken, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz was a strong candidate for the head coaching job, but ultimately lost out to him. Salty about the snub, Schwartz immediately told his staff he wasn’t returning to coach the defense, essentially creating this new nightmare scenario for the G-Men. Still, Monken can look anywhere else.
Bullen is a defensive mind on the rise. Losing him would be a gut punch, but losing him to Harbaugh’s apparent nemesis would be downright brutal. Seriously, what did John ever do to you? Giants defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson already has a strong reputation working with defensive backs, and pairing that with Bullen coaching up the pass-rushers could’ve added so much gas to a defense that feels ready to pop.