If you are a fan of American football, you might have heard of Todd Monken and Jeff Monken, two successful coaches who have worked at various levels of the sport. But are they brothers, as some people might assume? The answer is no, they are not brothers, but they are related. Here is the truth behind their family ties.
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Who is Todd Monken?
Todd Monken is the current offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He was also the former offensive coordinator for the University of Georgia, Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Oklahoma State University and Eastern Michigan University, as well as the former head coach at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Todd Monken was born on February 5, 1966 in Wheaton, Illinois. He played college football as a quarterback at Knox College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics. He also has a master’s degree in education leadership from Grand Valley State University.
Todd Monken began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Grand Valley State and Notre Dame. He then became the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at Eastern Michigan, where he led some of the best offenses in the program’s history. He also coached at Louisiana Tech, LSU and Jacksonville Jaguars before joining Oklahoma State as the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach.
In 2011, Todd Monken was promoted to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Oklahoma State, where he tutored Justin Blackmon into one of the best receivers in college football. He also helped the Cowboys rank among the top offenses in the nation.
In 2013, Todd Monken became the head coach at Southern Miss, where he inherited a team that had gone 0-12 in 2012. He improved the team’s record to 13-25 in three seasons, winning the Conference USA Coach of the Year award in 2015.
In 2016, Todd Monken joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. He worked with Jameis Winston and Mike Evans, among others, and helped the Buccaneers rank among the top passing offenses in the NFL.
In 2018, Todd Monken became the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns, where he worked with Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham Jr., among others. He helped the Browns improve their offense from 24th to 13th in scoring and from 13th to 12th in yards.
In 2020, Todd Monken became the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Georgia, where he worked with JT Daniels and George Pickens, among others. He helped Georgia win two national championships in 2021 and 2022.
In 2023, Todd Monken became the offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens, where he works with Lamar Jackson and Marquise Brown, among others. He is expected to help the Ravens maintain their high-powered offense.
Who is Jeff Monken?
Jeff Monken is the current head football coach at the United States Military Academy (Army), a position he has held since the 2014 season. He was also the former head football coach of Georgia Southern University from 2010 to 2013. Prior to that, he worked under Paul Johnson as a running backs coach and special teams coordinator at Georgia Southern, Navy and Georgia Tech.
Jeff Monken was born on April 15, 1967 in Peoria, Illinois. He played college football as a wide receiver at Millikin University, where he graduated in 1989. He also has a master’s degree in education from Hawaii.
Jeff Monken started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Hawaii and Arizona State. He then became the wide receivers, tight ends and recruiting coordinator coach at Buffalo for three seasons. He was hired as a head coach for the first time at Morton High School in Illinois for one season.
From Morton High School, Jeff Monken joined Paul Johnson’s staff at Georgia Southern as a running backs coach in 1997. He helped Georgia Southern win two national championships in 1999 and 2000. He followed Johnson to Navy in 2002 as a running backs coach and later added special teams coordinator duties. He helped Navy win five Commander-in-Chief’s Trophies and make six bowl appearances.
In 2008, Jeff Monken followed Johnson again to Georgia Tech as a special teams coordinator and running backs coach. He helped Georgia Tech win an ACC championship in 2009 and make four bowl appearances.
In 2010, Jeff Monken returned to Georgia Southern as the head coach, where he led the Eagles to an overall record of 38-16 in four seasons. He won two Southern Conference championships in 2011 and 2012 and made three FCS playoff semifinal appearances. He was named both the AFCA FCS Region 2 Coach of the Year and the Southern Conference Coach of the Year in 2011.
In 2014, Jeff Monken became the head coach at Army, where he inherited a team that had gone 3-9 in 2013. He improved the team’s record to 64-49 in nine seasons, winning four bowl games and four Commander-in-Chief’s Trophies. He also led Army to its first win over Navy in 14 years in 2016 and its first win over Air Force in 21 years in 2017. He was named the George Munger Award winner, the Touchdown Club of Columbus President’s Award winner, the Vince Lombardi College Football Coach of the Year and the ECAC Division I FBS Football Coach of the Year in 2018.
Todd Monken and Jeff Monken are cousins. They are both descendants of five brothers who immigrated from Germany to Illinois in the late 1800s. Their fathers, Bob Monken and Mike Monken, are first cousins who both played college football at Illinois Wesleyan University.
Todd Monken and Jeff Monken have a close relationship and often communicate with each other. They have also faced each other as coaches twice, once in 2012 when Todd was at Oklahoma State and Jeff was at Georgia Southern, and once in 2021 when Todd was at Georgia and Jeff was at Army. Todd won both games.
Todd Monken and Jeff Monken are not the only football coaches in their family. They have five other cousins who are also football coaches: Tom Monken (offensive coordinator at Illinois State), Ed Monken (head coach at Morton High School), Dan Monken (defensive coordinator at Morton High School), Tim Monken (offensive coordinator at Concordia University Chicago) and Matt Monken (defensive coordinator at Concordia University Chicago).
Conclusion
Todd Monken and Jeff Monken are two successful football coaches who have worked at various levels of the sport. They are not brothers, but they are cousins who share a passion for football and a family legacy. They are both respected and admired by their peers and fans for their achievements and contributions to the game.
