By Mike Trueblood
Reprinted with Permission of Galesburg's The Register-Mail How does a former Knox College quarterback end up on the coaching staff of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars? According to Todd Monken '89, who still holds a few Knox passing records, winning sure helps. "Winning and coaching good players leads to good things," said Monken, hired in February 2007 as the Jaguars' wide receivers coach. The former Knox quarterback joins the NFL after coaching stops as an assistant at Grand Valley State, Notre Dame, Eastern Michigan, Louisiana Tech, Oklahoma State, and Louisiana State. Monken contributed to highly regarded passing attacks at nearly all those schools. News reports listed him as a candidate for the head coaching job at Louisiana Tech before he took the Jaguars job. The son of a high school coach, Monken earned Pizza Hut Little All-American honors at Knox in 1988 with a season that included a record 23 touchdown passes, a record single season completion percentage of .609 (218-358), and a record single game performance of attempts and completions in a 41-for-65 effort against Illinois College. "I enjoyed playing there, I really did," said Monken, who lists as a highlight the people he grew to know at Knox, including Coach (Randy) Oberembt, Randy Kruger, John Rosene, Tim Heimann, and Harley Knosher. "Coach Oberembt was more than a coach to me—he opened up his home to me to come over and study a couple of times a week," said Monken. "To say I had a goal of one day reaching the NFL was far fetched," said Monken. But 17 years at seven colleges earned his opportunity. Along the way, he coached players like LSU receivers Skyler Green, Dwayne Bowe, and Craig Davis and at Oklahoma State worked with NFL first round pick Rashaun Woods. "It probably wasn't until I reached the level of Oklahoma State that I could make a coaching career at a high level," said Monken. "But I would say it was the second year at Oklahoma State (2003) when we went to the Cotton Bowl that I knew there would be other opportunities. Then at Louisiana State, we had a chance to win it all." Monken is trying to adjust to a new level of competition in the NFL. "We don't have the recruiting," he noted. "In college, there's always one more letter to write, one more text message to send or call to make. Now, that's not even on my mind." Monken knew when he accepted the job that adversity will come—as it always does in the pros—but he signed on anyway. "The safe thing would have been to stay at Louisiana State," said Monken. "But without risk, there's no reward. And the risk was worth it."
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