The Cleveland Browns’ process of hiring Todd Monken as their head coach was one of the longest of this cycle. Their approach was to cast a wide net in their initial interview process, leaving no stone unturned when making their final decision.
Monken was picked over fellow top candidate, Jim Schwartz, the Browns’ defensive coordinator over the past three seasons. While Schwartz was heavily considered for the role, they ultimately went with an outside hire, hopefully giving fresh eyes to this roster.
After passing him over for the job, the Browns hoped they could retain Schwartz as DC, but the damage had been done. Schwartz announced his resignation from the job shortly after this decision was made, which has sparked lots of conversation and debate among the fanbase. Insider Jason Lloyd talked about this situation in a recent appearance on the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show, highlighting what the Browns’ biggest problem has been in recent seasons.
“They just build everything on a spreadsheet without taking into account human emotion… What’s the big deal? We’ll just make Jim the defensive coordinator,” Lloyd said.
As Lloyd mentioned, it seems that the Browns have been more focused on the numbers and optics than the people involved with the organization. Schwartz was made to feel that he had a real shot of becoming the Browns’ head coach, getting to the end of the interview process, but at the end of the day, the team decided to go in another direction.
Lloyd also brought up the Deshaun Watson situation, where the team spent a record amount on his guaranteed contract, but he was in the middle of his off-field legal battles. This didn’t set the locker room up for success, and, again, to his point, the human emotion element wasn’t considered, at least at a high level.
Many Browns fans are fed up with many of the front office’s decisions, which have led to much of this outcry. The players seem to be in a similar boat, so it will be interesting to see how attitudes change over the next few months with Monken taking over.
NEXT: Analyst Names 4 Internal Candidates Likely To Replace Jim Schwartz
