Jim

Schwartz

Former Ravens OC Todd Monken got the Browns head coaching job on Wednesday after an extensive search, and after it appeared the Browns were set to promote Schwartz to the top job. Rapoport said the Browns “would like to retain Schwartz, who is under contract. The respected DC may have other plans. He’s coveted.” It looks like Schwartz will coach elsewhere in 2026 after being passed over, though there’s a chance he stays with Cleveland under Monken. Schwartz’s Browns offense in 2025 allowed the league’s fourth lowest success rate and third lowest EPA per play.

Schwartz could land the Browns’ head coach gig by default with so many candidates pulling out of the search for the league’s most unappealing job. During five seasons as Lions head coach, Schwartz was a disaster, posting a 29-51 record. He was unable to make the Lions a competitive team for much of that time; even the team’s defense was subpar. Schwartz, 59, would likely be a placeholder coach until the Browns can convince a young, up-and-coming coach to take a job no one really wants. Nate Scheelhaase and Todd Monken are reportedly also in the mix to coach Cleveland.

It sounds like he is no longer a candidate for their head-coaching vacancy. The Browns are said to be targeting a young candidate for the role, though Schultz notes that the team is not sure how Schartz would “react” to such a hire. The Browns have a win-now defense. It is possible that Schwartz is not interested in waiting around to see if an unproven candidate pans out.

Schwartz isn’t the only candidate who will get a second interview to fill the Browns’ head-coaching vacancy, per Cabot, but the longtime defensive coordinator has already secured one. Schwartz has spent the last three seasons as the Browns’ defensive coordinator and served as the Lions’ head coach from 2009 until 2013. Promoting Schwartz to head coach would make for an easy transition for a defense that finished fourth in yards allowed last season and that has been among the league’s best in two of Schwartz’s three seasons at the helm.

Per Schrager, Bullen has a chance to remove the “interim” part of his title, which makes sense. He significantly improved the Giants’ defensive performance after receiving the in-season promotion in Week 13, improving their quarterback pressure rate from 32.9 to 39.9 percent and lowering their yards allowed per play average from 6.1 to 5.1. The remaining four candidates include former Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon, Dolphins DC Anthony Weaver, Ravens DC Zach Orr and Browns DC Jim Schwartz.

They were late to the game, but the Ravens are by our count now up to 12 head-coaching candidate interviews, trailing the Titans by four. Schwartz had an in-house interview with the Browns about a head-coaching elevation last week. He otherwise has not been contacted by an outside team. The former Lions head coach has been an excellent defensive coordinator over his last few stints in Philadelphia and Cleveland. This has shades of the return of Wade Phillips.

Schwartz has regularly churned out formidable defenses since being hired by the Browns in his current role in 2023. Elevating him to the head coach role makes sense if ownership wishes to double down on an old school brand of football. Browns OC Tommy Rees will also interview for the team’s head-coaching vacancy today.

Schwartz beat out Sean Desai, Dennard Wilson, and Brian Flores for the job and will take over a Cleveland defense that improved late in the season but was still among the worst units in the NFL in 2022. Only seven teams allowed a higher EPA per play than the Browns; no defense was worse against the run than Cleveland. Schwartz’s defenses have finished as top-ten run-stopping units in nine of his 14 seasons as a defensive coordinator. A former DC for the Bills, Eagles, and Titans and former head coach of the Lions, Schwartz will get a chance to improve a defense with all-world pass rusher Myles Garrett as its centerpiece.

Schwartz is one of the more decorated coaching candidates in the league, having spent five seasons as the Lions’ head coach (2009-2013) while also serving as defensive coordinator for the Titans, Bills, and Eagles before rejoining the Titans as a defensive assistant in 2021. Schwartz has helped lead several top-10 defenses during his time in the NFL and has coached up several All-Pro and Pro Bowl defensive linemen in his career.

New York’s front office and, in particular, coach Brian Daboll have also sat down with former Ravens DC Wink Martindale and Steelers defensive assistant Teryl Austin for interviews. Schwartz, 55, has had three separate stints as a defensive play-caller in the league, coordinating with the Titans (2001-08), Bills (2014), and Eagles (2016-20) throughout his career. The Colts also recently interviewed Schwartz for its DC vacancy.