It took the Cleveland Browns more than three weeks to name a new head coach, with Todd Monken ultimately being hired as the replacement for Kevin Stefanski. Now, with their search for a new defensive coordinator about to enter its second week, it is still unknown when that will reach its conclusion.
Since Jim Schwartz resigned in the aftermath of being passed over, the Browns have looked at internal candidates and other coaches from outside the organization to replace him. It is similar to the methodical approach that led them to Monken.
At this point in the process, analyst Daryl Ruiter has named his top three candidates for the defensive coordinator position: current Browns assistants Jason Tarver and Ephraim Banda, and Houston Texans assistant Cory Undlin.
“I’m down to either Tarver, Banda or Undlin. [Tarver and Banda are] here, they know how Jim Schwartz ran the system, that would be seamless. Undlin has history with the Schwartz system as well,” Ruiter said.
"I'm down to Tarver, Banda, or Undlin… They're here they know how Jim Schwartz ran the system, that would be seamless… I don't know that I expect them to play at the same level as the last 3 years with Schwartz."
📞@RuiterWrongFAN on Browns defensive coordinator opening pic.twitter.com/s0VApPInwT
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) February 13, 2026
No matter who gets the job, Ruiter said he foresees a drop off from the defense compared to its performance under Schwartz the past three seasons. That included a No. 1 ranking in total defense in 2023, and a No. 4 ranking this season, when defensive end Myles Garrett was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year and linebacker Carson Schwesinger was named Rookie of the Year.
Tarver, in particular, can cite those credentials in his effort to land the job. He has been the Browns’ linebackers coach since 2020, helping to develop players like Schwesinger and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah during that time. Tarver is also the only one among the three candidates named by Ruiter who has previous coordinator experience in the NFL, with the Oakland Raiders from 2012 through 2014.
Banda has been the Browns’ safeties coach for the past three seasons, which was his first NFL job. He was the defensive coordinator at Utah State before coming to Cleveland along with Schwartz in 2023.
Undlin just completed his third year as the defensive passing game coordinator for the Houston Texans, who led the NFL in total defense this season. He was a defensive backs coach for the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2017 season, when Schwartz was their defensive coordinator and they won Super Bowl LII.
These three men all bring something different to the table, so it will be interesting to see which of them, if any, will get the job.
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