And then, there were five. Head coaching openings, that is, as the Baltimore Ravens were the most recent domino to fall. They hired Jesse Minter to take John Harbaugh’s place, and he definitely has his work cut out for him.
With this hiring, half of the available jobs have been snatched up, and if teams want to acquire top-end talent, they’re going to have to act sooner rather than later. The Cleveland Browns have been doing their due diligence during the hiring process, but they might have to speed that along to make sure they’re not left with the rest of the league’s scraps.
There are several positive coaches they’ve interviewed thus far, but perhaps none make more sense than Jim Schwartz, which is what analyst Lance Reisland noted in a recent segment of 92.3’s “The Fan.”
“I think they should open it up even more. For me, it makes sense to hire (Jim) Schwartz. The amount of stuff that a young guy has to know as a CEO coach, does not make sense to hire Udinski or Scheelhaase,” Reisland said.
"I think they should open it up even more. For me, it makes sense to hire (Jim) Schwartz. The amount of stuff that a young guy has to know as a CEO coach, does not make sense to hire Udinski or Scheelhaase."
🚨 @LanceReisland w/ @NickWilsonSays & @JPeterlin on #Browns HC search pic.twitter.com/ib8vHqIxwR
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) January 23, 2026
Schwartz already has built-in familiarity with Browns players, which could make him a desirable candidate moving forward. At the same time, his defense was outstanding in 2025, and the front office might not want to sacrifice that unit to give Schwartz a chance to be the head coach.
His experience could prove vital for being the head coach for this team, and considering a lot of the team’s other options, Schwartz is among the most seasoned, if not the most seasoned. Having a veteran coach might just be what the doctor ordered for a team that’s been among the NFL’s worst over the past two decades, but only time will tell what direction they’ll try to go.
No matter who the Browns hire, they will have their work cut out for them given the state of the organization. But if a coach like Schwartz can come in and change the culture from the get-go, it’ll be well worth it, hopefully turning this team into contenders sooner rather than later.
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