If the players had their say, the Cleveland Browns wouldn’t need an extensive search, and 10-plus interviews overall, to find their next head coach.
Jim Schwartz owns the highest approval rating in the locker room, with key voices like Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward giving glowing recommendations. Garrett credited Schwartz with improving his game to the point where the NFL’s single-season sack record was possible, and the Browns’ defense as a whole has been a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy past two seasons in Cleveland.
By the time the team's split from Kevin Stefanski was made official, Browns fans seemed mostly on board with a Schwartz promotion. He has prior head coach experience, voiced a desire for a second crack at the job, and has more than earned his chance as one of the best coordinators in all of football.
But the NFL is known as a week-to-week business, and two weeks into what has been an extensive Browns’ search, fans seem to be clinging to an old saying: Fortune favors the bold.
The team announced its virtual interview Saturday with Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski, and while Schwartz and Todd Monken are already expected to get a second interview this coming week, the growing buzz around Udinski among Browns fans has become impossible to ignore.
The head coach Browns fans are now begging for isn’t who you think
The allure of having Schwartz switch offices in Berea this month? It’s the safest move. The Browns can trust Schwartz as the team’s leader and have already seen him develop young talent on the defensive side of the football, like Carson Schwesinger and Mason Graham.
The growing fear among fans? The move hardly constitutes a major change. Given how young the Browns’ starting lineup is, why not just keep Stefanski, Schwartz and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees in their current roles, revamp the offensive line and add talent at wide receiver, and see if they can get things turned around in 2026?
Schwartz’s first run as a head coach in Detroit played out similarly to Stefanski’s tenure in Cleveland. He built the Lions from a bottom-feeder to a playoff team, inheriting an offense with then-No. 1 overall draft pick Matthew Stafford and superstar WR Calvin Johnson in 2009; but he struggled to sustain that success, and was ultimately shown the door after missing the postseason in back-to-back seasons from 2012-13.
It begs the question, is Schwartz a big enough culture change from Stefanski to get the Browns over the hump? And is he the right coach to help transition the team out of the Deshaun Watson era and finish rebuilding the offense?
Browns fans definitely seem to be wavering, based on a recent online poll by ESPN Cleveland. Over 2,600 fans answered this question: Do you want the Browns to hire Grant Udinski as their next HC? And the results were overwhelming "yes" — with over 77 percent of the vote.
Do you want the Browns to hire Grant Udinski as their next HC?
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) January 17, 2026
Who is Udinski? No one really knows. He was a protégé of Kevin O’Connell with the Minnesota Vikings before getting poached by Liam Coen and the Jaguars at the age of 29 during last year’s hiring cycle. He’s one year into his role as Jacksonville’s offensive coordinator, with Coen calling the plays from the sideline. But he’s quickly become known as a QB savant, working with both Sam Darnold in Minnesota in 2024, and Trevor Lawrence with the Jaguars this past season; both QBs enjoyed career seasons with Udinski in the room and playing a large role in the offensive game-planning.
It’s easy to fall in love with the unknown, and the Browns have a chance to swing for the fences by hiring a rising star in the NFL coaching ranks. Schwartz would definitely be the most comfortable choice, but Udinski could be the game-changer — and innovative offensive mind — the Browns need to finally emerge from AFC North purgatory.