Todd Monken officially names three coordinators to coaching staff

BEREA, Ohio — Forty-eight hours after the calendar flipped to draft-preparation season, Todd Monken completed the most important piece of off-season homework. On Feb. 20 the Cleveland Browns formally announced the three men who will run the club’s units in 2026: Travis Switzer as offensive coordinator, Mike Rutenberg as defensive coordinator and Byron Storer as special teams coordinator.

Monken, hired Jan. 28 to replace the dismissed Kevin Stefanski, spent three weeks vetting candidates before settling on a trio that blends continuity with fresh perspective. “You’re always looking for coaches that never forget that we have a job for our players,” Monken said in a statement released by the team. “That’s first and foremost, and our job is to maximize our players’ measurable skill set. I always aspire to be the best coach they’ve ever had.”

Switzer, 33, arrives from Baltimore, where he served as run-game coordinator during Monken’s tenure as offensive coordinator. The pair helped craft the 2024 Ravens attack that became the first in NFL history to amass 4,000 passing yards and 3,000 rushing yards in the same season. Switzer, a Lancaster, Pa., native and former Akron center, has spent the past decade on the Ravens’ staff in various roles. “He’s intentional, he’s intelligent and he can teach,” Monken said. “Probably where I’ve seen him grow the most is confidence in front of the players.”

Cleveland’s offense ranked 30th in total yards (4,456) and 29th in points (279) in 2025, providing Switzer a wide runway for improvement.

Rutenberg, 44, inherits a defense that finished fourth in yards allowed (283.6 per game) under respected co-ordinator Jim Schwartz, who resigned after Monken’s hiring. The new coach spent 2025 as Atlanta’s pass-game coordinator and previously coached Jets linebackers for four seasons. Monken pledged to retain Schwartz’s aggressive, four-down front; Rutenberg’s background in a similar scheme made him the preferred choice. “His energy, his ability to teach, his juice — it popped,” Monken said.

Storer, 41, spent the past four seasons as assistant special teams coach in Green Bay after a four-year stint in the same role with Las Vegas. A former NFL fullback whose career ended with a knee injury in 2009, Storer left coaching in 2013 to run his family’s transportation firm before Rich Bisaccia and Matt LaFleur lured him back to the sidelines. “Matt LaFleur just absolutely standing on the table for him was huge,” Monken said. “It was obvious when I got done interviewing him that we had to have him here.”

With his staff now set, Monken turns his attention to the draft and free agency as he attempts to revive a franchise that has posted back-to-back losing seasons.