Browns have hired Steve Wilks as DC and Todd Monken as OC
Monken is the Browns' new OC.AP
By Mary Kay Cabot, cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Freddie Kitchens will have all three of his coordinators in place by the time he's introduced as Browns head coach in his introductory press conference at noon on Monday at FirstEnergy Stadium.
He's hired former Bucs offensive coordinator Todd Monken for the same position here, and former Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks as defensive coordinator, a league source told cleveland.com.
He's also hired former Packers offensive line coach/run game coordinator James Campen as associate head coach/offensive line coach.
Previously, former Vikings special teams coordinator Mike Priefer announced he was hired in that capacity here.
Mike Priefer announces he's been hired as Browns special teams coordinator
Priefer comes to the Browns from Minnesota.
The coordinators and other assistants are expected to be announced in the morning, before the press conference.
Monken, 58, interviewed for the Jets' head coach job and also talked to the Jaguars about their coordinator position.
Kitchens might still call his own plays, but Monken established himself as formidable playcaller in 2018.
Under Monken, the Bucs boasted the No. 1 passing game in the NFL in 2018 with 320.3 yards per game. Their running game was ranked 29th, and their offense was third overall. In seven games, the Bucs rolled up 450 yards more more.
Monken took over the Bucs' playcalling duties from Dirk Koetter this year and put up 48 points in his first game, with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing for more than 400 yards and four TDs. In his first three games, Fitzpatrick passed for at least 400 yards and three TDs, and was NFL Offensive Player of the Week in weeks one and two. Koetter took the playcalling duties back against the Redskins, and the Bucs scored three points in a loss.
He went back to Monken the rest of the way, and the Bucs set club records in total yards, passing yards and passing TDs.
Monken broke into the NFL as wide receivers of the Jaguars from 2007-10. He returned to the college ranks for five seasons, including three years as head coach at Southern Miss. He re-entered the NFL as offensive coordinator/receivers coach for the Bucs in 2016 and was solely OC in 2018 until Dirk Koetter was fired after the season.
Wilks, 49, was one-and-done with the Cardinals this year, getting fired after going 3-13 in his first season. Cardinals President Michael Bidwell, who hired Kliff Kingsbury away from the USC, said he couldn't get behind Wilks' plan for moving forward.
"It was a cumulative effect as it went on, but I wanted to make sure I gave him the whole season, every opportunity, to turn it around because I thought it was most fair to him," Bidwell said in a press conference. "But you saw from the very beginning, even when we had a healthy squad, the first two games we were outscored 58-6 so I had some concerns from the very beginning."
He's worked under three NFL head coaches in Lovie Smith with the Bears, Norv Turner with the Chargers and Ron Rivera with the Panthers.
A longtime defensive backs coach, Wilks was promoted to Panthers' defensive coordinator in 2017 as well as keeping his designation as assistant head coach. Wilks' unit finished third in the NFL in sacks with 50, third in run defense (88.1 yards per game), No. 7 in total defense (317.1 yards per game) and No. 18 in passing defense (229 yards).
He served as Panthers' defensive backs coach from 2012-14 and added assistant head coach duties in 2015-16. He's also been secondary coach of the Bears and Chargers, and will be a good teacher for rookie cornerback Denzel Ward, a 2019 Pro Bowler.
Wilks takes over a Browns defense that finished 30th in total defense, including 28th against the run and 25th against the pass. They were second in the NFL with 30 takeaways, and Myles Garrett finished seventh in the NFL with 13.5 sacks.
Wilks also brings some head coach experience, which should be helpful to Kitchens in his first year on the job.
Campen, a former NFL center, has been the Packers' offensive line coach since 2007, and added run game coordinator duties in 2018. Six Packers lineman earned Pro Bowl recognition under his watch since 2010, most in the league in that span.
Campen coached Browns center JC Tretter his first three seasons in the league. Campens playing career in Green Bay overlapped with GM John Dorsey's time there.