The coaching world is a small one, and as the days go by, it continues to get smaller.
Every single guy is on a one-man mission to get to the top of the sport and become a head coach somewhere. For some, the grind is too much, but for others, they make a life out of it. Now, as the NFL is in a little bit of a transition phase to the young, braniac coaches, there is another layer of the coaching world that is getting exposed. The perfect example of this is with Todd Monken and the two guys the Ravens hired as their head coach and offensive coordinator.
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Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken was on the Ryan Ripken Show and was asked what his actual thoughts are about the Ravens’ decision. In typical Monken fashion, he told the truth and nothing but the truth.
Browns’ head coach Todd Monken tells the truth about the Ravens’ new coaching staff, be ready to laugh.
“It’s bulls—,” Monken exclaimed. ” I don’t know if everyone knows this. My first year as a GA at Notre Dame… in ’91, I GA’d with Declan Doyle’s dad, Chris Doyle… My second year at Notre Dame, I moved to defense, and I was a GA for Rick Minter, Jessie Minter’s dad. It really just means my a– is old. But, the reality is, I’ve got a ton of respect for those guys. They are fantastic coaches.”
Monken is a unique character in this business as he is getting his first-ever NFL head coaching job after cutting his teeth for over 35 years. He has seen a lot and met a lot of guys, including both of the Ravens’ coaches’ fathers.
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In 1991, when Monken got his first Graduate Assistant (GA) job at Notre Dame, he worked alongside Chris Doyle as assistants on the offensive side of the footbal. Then, the following year, he went to the other side of the football and began working with Rick Minter, Jessie’s father, on the defensive side of the ball.
Now, as he sits here today, he is going to compete with the second generation twice a year as long as they are all on the staff.
Monken laughed, saying, “It really just means I’m an old man in this business,” and that he really respects those two youngsters as coaches.
It’s a very fascinating thing to put yourself in the shoes of Monken, who has been around the block so many times, and it took him forever to get his opportunity. Then, he gets it; several coaches in the league are in their mid to early 30s, nearly 30 years younger than him.
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I’d be willing to bet a lot of money that this same story that he has with Minter and Doyle’s fathers, he has with at least a couple of others in the league. The coaching world is a very small community, and the ones who make it meet so many people along the way.
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Browns’ HC Todd Monken reacts hilariously, to Baltimore’s new hires
