Randy Oberembt, former head football coach at Knox College and a Knox-Lombard Athletic Hall of Famer, joins WGIL's Jay Redfern to discuss his former player Todd Monken, who was recently named head coach of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns.
Randy details Monken’s unconventional path to Knox — from walk-on at Western Illinois behind Paul Singer, to baseball at College of DuPage, to becoming a record-setting quarterback for the Prairie Fire. He describes the unique two-quarterback system with Bob Monroe, Monken’s toughness (playing through a broken leg), and his standout 1988 season where he led the nation in passing attempts, completions, and yards.
The conversation explores Monken’s deep Illinois coaching family legacy, his exceptional work ethic, schematic innovation, and player development success (including two national championships at Georgia). Randy also offers insights on what Browns fans should know about Monken and why patience will be key in Cleveland.
Watch the full video version of this interview on YouTube: https://youtu.be/OhtetgXiiAk