Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has made it to the following stage of the club’s head coaching search, as he’ll take a second interview with Cleveland on Monday. Albert Breer of SI.com believes Schwartz will ultimately land the position, and he says the preference inside the organization is to maintain a talented DC on the staff in some capability.
That means that even when the Browns go in a special direction at HC, they still need to keep Schwartz aboard for what could be a fourth yr as defensive coordinator. And given the success he has had in that role, the team’s wish makes loads of sense.
Schwartz, 59, has further cemented his status as one in all the league’s top defensive minds during his Browns tenure. His unit ranked first within the NFL in yards allowed in 2023 and fourth in that capability this past season (albeit with a Nineteenth-place finish in 2024 sandwiched in-between). Schwartz has received a variety of endorsements from his players, and though Cleveland limped to a 5-12 mark in 2025, the team’s offense was the first perpetrator for that showing.
That offense – or, more accurately, the unappealing quarterback situation – is one in all the explanation why the Browns’ HC post will not be as well-regarded as a number of the other openings across the league. Alternatively, the Ravens are the one other club that appears to be considering Schwartz for a head coaching role on this yr’s cycle, so the Cleveland emptiness may represent his best likelihood to get back within the HC ranks.
Schwartz has not worked as a head coach since 2013, which marked the tip of a five-season run because the Lions’ sideline general. His overall 29-51 record in Detroit is a poor one, though he did lead the then-moribund franchise to a playoff berth in 2011, which was the primary time since 1999 the Lions had qualified for the postseason. Schwartz earned a Super Bowl ring because the Eagles’ DC in 2017.
Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken can also be scheduled for a second HC interview with the Browns. That summit is as a consequence of happen on Tuesday, sooner or later after Schwartz speaks with team brass for a second time. If he doesn’t land the Cleveland post, Monken is predicted to follow John Harbaugh to Latest York and grow to be the Giants’ OC.
Other offensive-minded candidates are getting additional consideration from the Browns as well. Jaguars OC Grant Udinski has secured a second interview. The identical is true of former Dolphins HC and highy-popular candidate Mike McDaniel, per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, who reports McDaniel’s second summit is scheduled for Wednesday. Based on Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase has also earned one other interview request following his Friday meeting. Since LA continues to be within the playoffs, the date of his in-person sit-down is to be determined.
In light of his accomplishments, it stands to reason that one other candidate who gets the Browns’ job would need to keep Schwartz as their DC. It stays to be seen if Schwartz could be amenable to that, or if he would seek a coordinator job elsewhere.