Jim Schwartz is clearly a highly valued member of the Cleveland Browns’ organization, despite working on a staff under a recently fired head coach. In fact, the Browns think so much of Schwartz that they have given the defensive coordinator a second interview to become Kevin Stefanski’s replacement.
However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the Browns truly want to give him the job. Instead, they may want him to stay right where he is.
Insider Mary Kay Cabot recently revealed details about Schwartz’s Browns head-coaching interview, in which the team tried to gauge whether he would work under a new boss.
“Part of Schwartz’s interview on Monday was to help determine how he might fit with the other candidates as defensive coordinator if he doesn’t get promoted. The Browns would love Schwartz, 59, to return for a fourth season as coordinator if they hire someone else to replace Kevin Stefanski, and keep their dominant defense humming along,” Cabot wrote.
Schwartz may have no other choice but to stay with the Browns in his current role. Even though there have been 10 NFL head coaching vacancies in this cycle, and six of those jobs remain open, he has reportedly interviewed only with the Browns and the Baltimore Ravens.
He does have NFL head-coaching experience with the Detroit Lions from 2009 to 2013. Though he had only one winning season, it did result in a playoff appearance.
In three seasons with the Browns, Schwartz’s defense has been the inarguable strength of the team. It ranked first in the NFL in his first year, when Cleveland made the playoffs, and was fourth this season, when it won just five games, two in the final two weeks.
The widely held perception is that the Browns are looking for a young, up-and-coming, offensive-minded head coach, with coordinators Grant Udinski and Nathaniel Scheelhaase among the other candidates who will get a second interview. However, that strategy may be based on the idea that they can convince Schwartz to stay and work under them, running the other side of the ball while also providing guidance to a first-timer.
It’s an awkward situation, to say the least, and with so many coaching staffs in flux around the league, perhaps Schwartz would seek out an opportunity to move on elsewhere and get a fresh start.
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