The Cleveland Browns are hoping that their next head coach can have even more success than their last one and seem to be eyeing a candidate with more experience than most to achieve that goal.
According to ESPN Cleveland's Tony Grossi, Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has become the candidate that the team is "circling back to." Schwartz ranks among the top defensive coordinators in the NFL and led them to a top-15 defense in 2025 amid internal dysfunction.
"Browns circling back to Jim Schwartz. Obviously, the voices of key players are being heard," Grossi wrote.
Schwartz & the Browns
Schwartz was head coach of the Detroit Lions from 2009 to 2013, bringing them out of the humiliating muck of their infamous 2008 0-16 season and leading them to the playoffs in 2011.
Unfortunately, the 10-6 playoff season he had with the Lions in 2011 was the high water mark of his head coaching career. He went 19-45 in his other four seasons and was fired after the 2013 campaign.
Over the last dozen years he's served as defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles, and Cleveland Browns, with a stint as a senior defensive assistant for the Tennessee Titans in between.
Jason Miller/Getty Images
But Browns fans don't seem certain that Schwartz is the right man for the job in spite of the players' fondness for him. Some assert that the fact players like him is proof that he's a bad candidate to begin with.
"Listening to who the players want usually ends in disaster. See, Antonio Pierce in Vegas as a recent example," one user on X remarked.
"This would be a huge let down as a fan. He’s a great coordinator but we’ve seen this movie as a HC. Need to go offensive minded," wrote another.
"The same voices that wanted Baker gone and were really happy with the Watson trade? Maybe not listen to those voices even if one is the sack leader," a third wrote.
Schwartz clearly knows his stuff on defense, but would have to lean heavily on an offensive coordinator to really get the Browns humming.
Do you think he'd be a good fit for the job?