Browns Todd Monken poaching ‘coveted,‘ ‘valuable piece’ for John Harbaugh, strong analytics background

For many Cleveland Browns fans, the hiring of HC Todd Monken was a strong move away from the youth and upside approach that the analytics-focused team has focused on. The assumption made sense. Monken will turn 60 years old in a few days and talks with the kind of gruff, gravely voice that befits a more “old school” coach of football.

The Monken hire may have come after a problematic process, but his offense could help QB Shedeur Sanders develop quickly, and Monken has been lauded by many for his approach.

As Monken puts his staff together, youth and analytics seem to be more of a focus than anyone could have imagined. Travis Switzer, the 33-year-old who has never called plays, is now Cleveland’s offensive coordinator. Danny Breyer, the 35-year-old with varied but low-level experience, will be the Browns pass game coordinator.

While the team hasn’t made any moves official, now comes reports that Monken will be bringing in Daniel Stern:

Everything about Stern’s resume, courtesy of the Baltimore Ravens website, screams “analytics.”

DANIEL STERN is in his 10th season with the Ravens and second as director of football strategy/assistant quarterbacks coach. He also is responsible for scripting situational periods of practice and advising head coach John Harbaugh on in-game clock/game management and coaches’ challenges. Since 2019, Stern has been charged with studying game management, situational football and the NFL playing rules/officiating, advising Harbaugh and the team in these areas. He graduated magna cum laude with a degree in cognitive science from Yale University (2016), where he spent three seasons as an undergraduate assistant to the football team – assisting with coaches’ video, opponent game breakdowns and football operations – as well as doing independent coursework in football strategy research.

A few years ago, during the height of the COVID limitations, John Harbaugh noted Stern’s importance and impact on the team:

Two years prior, Peter Schrager highlighted Stern’s role in Baltimore, back when Greg Roman was the team’s offensive coordinator:

The article Schrager noted from The Athletic is no longer available, but pieces of it were available in a Baltimore Magazine article, including this statement from Harbaugh:

“We talk about all the different scenarios, and he basically gives me a percentage,” says Harbaugh. “So what’s the added win percentage of going for it? He’ll give it to me like one, two, three, four, five, six, up to whatever. Then you just decide if you want to do it. It’s not strictly based (on the numbers). I listen to it. If he starts telling me 3 and 4 percent, I get really interested. If it’s 1 or 2 percent, I’m still interested—especially if it’s short, if I think we can get it.”

For all the hatred Browns fans have for the Ravens, the organization has been rock solid for decades and, along with Cleveland, has been among the leaders in analytics use for a long time. Under Harbaugh, Baltimore had just two losing seasons (out of 18). During that same time, the Browns have had just two winning years.

Cleveland fans hoping for a reduction in analytics might actually get the opposite. Not only does the likely hiring of Stern point to that, but Monken himself has noted how much he likes analytics:

The Browns generally wait until around the NFL combine at the end of February to announce their coaching staff. Even if things are not official, it seems Monken is building a Ravens-West coaching staff, beating out his former boss, Harbaugh, for an analytics guru for his staff.