In 2009, Jim Schwartz took over a Detroit Lions team that had reached the abyss of NFL football and within three years had them in the playoffs. With six NFL teams still looking for a head coach, one of them could be eyeing Schwartz to work similar magic on their long-suffering franchise.
According to ProFootballTalk, Schwartz has had two interviews with the Cleveland Browns, where he has served as defensive coordinator since 2023. He is currently the only candidate for the job with prior head coaching experience.
"The Browns defensive coordinator has had two interviews for the head-coaching vacancy in Cleveland, after three years with the Browns as defensive coordinator. Now that former Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel has withdrawn his name from consideration for the job in Cleveland, Schwartz is the only remaining candidate with NFL head-coaching experience," PFT's Mike Florio wrote.
Ideal for Cleveland?
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has already made it clear that he hopes Schwartz remains with the team even after the firing of Kevin Stefanski several weeks ago. To his credit, he was one of the few staffers worth retaining.
Cleveland's defense ranked in the upper half of the league twice in his three seasons as defensive coordinator and were No. 1 in yards in 2023. He earned Assistant Coach of the Year honors for his work with the team that season.
This past year he engineered a defense that ranked fourth in yards and allowed star pass rusher Myles Garrett to break the NFL single-season sack record.
Suffice it to say, he's rock solid as a coach.
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But Schwartz is not without his flaws. Even with a franchise quarterback in Matthew Stafford and an All-Pro wide receiver in Calvin Johnson for most of his time in Detroit, the Lions could rarely put it all together on both sides of the ball.
Schwartz had only one winning season in five seasons with the Lions and went just 29-51, losing his lone playoff game.
Can Schwartz be the man to get the Browns over the hump?