It's been nearly six months since the Ravens fired John Harbaugh, yet some are still reckoning with their new reality.
Consider Todd Monken, the Browns' new coach who landed the job only after he was dismissed as part of Harbaugh's staff in Baltimore. Although he's happy with where he is now, he also isn't afraid to speak candidly on the end of his tenure with the now-rival Ravens.
"It tells you how fickle, just in general, life is," Monken told . "From the year before, if you'd have told me that we'd have been fired after the year we had offensively ... "
"I'll give it this, coaches, for the most part the players, never quit."
In 2024 -- Monken's second season as Ravens offensive coordinator -- Baltimore owned the most productive offense in the NFL, finishing first in yards per game (424.9) and third in scoring (30.5 points per contest). The newly formed tandem of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry steamrolled defenses, powering a 12-5 finish and a playoff run that ended in heartbreaking fashion in a Divisional Round loss to the Bills in Buffalo.
Coming off that season, most everyone expected the Ravens to replicate their success in 2025. But injuries struck, sidelining Jackson for an extended period and sending Baltimore into an unexpected spiral.
Backup quarterback Tyler "Snoop" Huntley did his best to keep the Ravens' afloat, posting a 2-0 record as a starter, and the Ravens managed to fight their way back into a winner-take-all Week 18 showdown with the rival Steelers in Pittsburgh. With Monken directing the offense from the booth, Jackson led a heroic final drive that positioned the Ravens to kick a game-winning field goal that would have won them the AFC North crown and sent them back to the postseason.
Tyler Loop's miss changed everything. Baltimore lost, Harbaugh and Monken were fired, and more than five months later, Monken now finds himself wearing the rival's colors in Cleveland.
"We had no idea we'd still have a chance," Monken said. "And for them to come out and play their ass off, play physical? Hell, Snoop saved our season twice. He saved our season against the Bears when we were 1-5, and he saved our season against Green Bay. And that's a real credit to him for a guy that wasn't even with us at the start of the season.
"But ultimately, everything has a shelf life."
Monken echoed similar sentiments regarding his partnership with Jackson, which failed to replicate the elite production that propelled the Ravens to success a year earlier.
"I can say this: The coaching staff and our preparation never changed," Monken said. "We worked our balls off. I can't say that about everybody, so I'll just say that. Ultimately, it was time. It was just time."
Now, it's time for Monken to prove himself as a first-time NFL head coach with a Cleveland team that certainly doesn't feature the same star power under center. That won't deter Monken, however. Although he appreciates Jackson greatly for their shared success, he won't take it easy on his former quarterback, not even after Jackson sent him a congratulatory text when he landed the job in Cleveland.
"Then I said, 'go f--- yourself,'" Monken said. "We are going to blitz you every third down. He laughed."
