The Cleveland Browns are down to five potential head-coaching candidates. They still need to interview another minority or woman in person before moving on, after the Mike McDaniel fiasco, to satisfy the Rooney Rule. Still, it shouldn't be much longer before they hire their guy.
That raises some questions about Jim Schwartz's future with the organization. Three of the Browns' head-coaching candidates have offensive backgrounds, and two of them (Grant Udinski and Nathan Scheelhaase) are young, first-timers. The team would both benefit from keeping Schwartz around.
Still, the Browns could hire Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, a veteran like Todd Monken, or even Schwartz. In three out of five scenarios, the team would probably need a new defensive coordinator.
With that in mind, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com believes the Browns could have a suitable replacement in the building in safeties coach Ephraim Banda.
"Browns safeties coach Ephraim Banda has interviewed for the defensive coordinator vacancies with the Jets and Cowboys, and also has a chance to become the Browns coordinator depending on what happens with current defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz," Cabot wrote.
The Browns’ head coach decision could quietly reshape the defense
Banda has earned his stripes with the team. He's been the team's safeties coach since 2023, and he helped the team give up the third-fewest passing yards per game last season (167.2). Under his watch, Grant Delpit paced the team with a career-best 108 tackles. Also, the Browns were the only team that didn't allow any quarterback to put up 300-plus passing yards on them.
The 44-year-old has previous experience as a defensive coordinator at both Miami (Florida) and Utah State. He also interviewed for the Indianapolis Colts' defensive coordinator last season, and he met with the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys during this hiring cycle.
The Browns reportedly still prefer that Schwartz will stay, in some capacity. He's still under contract, but he may not want to remain with the team after being bypassed to favor a younger candidate. Also, whoever they hire — if it's not him — may want to put together his own coaching staff.
Schwartz has done an amazing job in his three years with the organization, so it was only right that he also got a fair shot at the position. That being said, it would've probably made much more sense to get him to replace Kevin Stefanski as an interim head coach at some point during the 2025 season, if the team had any intention of giving him the position.
Now, given his previous head-coaching experience, there are also legitimate reasons to be concerned about hiring him in that capacity.