Lamar Jackson and Todd Monken used to go to war together with the Baltimore Ravens. That will no longer be the case, beginning in the 2026 NFL season, with Monken accepting a job to become the head coach of the Ravens’ AFC North rivals Cleveland Browns.
With Monken staying in the division, he is guaranteed to face his former team at least twice each season going forward, and that involves finding ways to slow down the ultra-talented Jackson, who received a friendly warning from the former Baltimore offensive coordinator.
After he was hired by the Browns, Monken said Jackson congratulated him via text. Monken appreciates the gesture, but he also knows it is now a different world for both of them.
“Then I said, ‘go f— yourself,’” Monken said of his reply to the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player, via Brian Wacker of The Baltimore Sun. “We are going to blitz you every third down. He laughed.”
Following a stint with the Georgia Bulldogs’ coaching staff, Monken returned to the NFL in 2023 to become the Ravens’ offensive coordinator. Under Monken, Jackson won his second MVP. Now, the 60-year-old Browns head coach will look to give Cleveland a spark — but without the luxury of having a quarterback of Jackson’s caliber.
Monken and his Browns are scheduled to take on the Ravens in Week 6 of the 2026 season at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio. Then in Week 16, the Ravens will host Cleveland at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md.
