The Cleveland Browns finally came to a decision on a new coach and landed on former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who beat out Jim Schwartz and Nathan Scheelhaase in the final round of interviews. The excitement for the Monken hire wasn’t too big out of the gate, but many fans are coming around to it after hearing so much praise from Monken’s former players and colleagues.
While excitement for Monken is building, there is still disappointment over the fact that Schwartz angrily walked out after learning he didn’t get the job. He is against sticking around as the defensive coordinator under a new regime, but the tricky part of the ordeal is that he is still under contract with the Browns, who are reportedly taking a hard stance on the situation.
Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com recently spoke about Schwartz’s situation with the Browns and added some insight into the pushback from the Browns’ side. While Schwartz is already being connected to the San Francisco 49ers’ DC opening, there is a major hurdle to jump through, because the Browns have reportedly made it clear that they want to keep Schwartz and hope he’ll change his mind and stay.
“Besides, the only other option for Schwartz at this point is to retire, and he might not want to do that at the height of his game. Granted, he might have interest from San Francisco and other teams for coordinator jobs, but it’s highly unlikely the Browns would let him out of his contract. They’ve made it clear they want him here, and the hope is that he’ll ultimately decide to stay,” Cabot said.
If Schwartz is dead set on leaving, it would be poor optics for the Browns to decide not to let him out of his contract. He has given his all to this organization and earned the right to a promotion, and it’s understandable that he would be devastated that he was passed over for Monken.
Unfortunately, this story still has many chapters to be written, and hopefully all parties can come to some sort of agreement. Schwartz has been a huge bright spot for this organization, and if there’s any way the team can keep him, it’s imperative that the Browns figure out a way to do so.
NEXT: Mina Kimes Sees Something Special In Todd Monken
