The Cleveland Browns have found their replacement for defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, but it wasn’t exactly a name that had fans ready to run through a brick wall on Monday.
Mike Rutenberg was more of an unknown commodity during this year’s hiring cycle as the former defensive passing game coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons. His most direct NFL ties are to Robert Saleh and Gregg Williams, and with no prior coaching experience with Browns head coach Todd Monken or Schwartz, he was viewed as a long-shot for Cleveland, even when its three finalists were revealed over the weekend.
Rutenberg comes with a strong coaching background, with a Cornell education, some personnel experience, and plenty of service time at the college and pro ranks.
But the buzz around the Browns’ latest curveball hire isn’t so much about the fit with Myles Garrett and company, as it is the big personality that Cleveland’s bringing to its sideline on game days.
Michael Penix Jr. said the quiet part out loud about new Browns DC
There was a time when fans rarely heard from assistant coaches, including coordinators, but that’s not the case in the modern NFL. Teams are now required to make their offensive, defensive, and special teams coordinators available to the local media during each week of the regular season, and at various other checkpoints during training camp.
Browns fans are about to learn just how much of a character their new DC is.
One word team reporters and national insiders seemed to use most often on Rutenberg was “high-energy.” Similar to Saleh and Falcons DC Jeff Ulbrich, he’s known around the league as a coach who’s not afraid to wear his emotions on his sleeve during games.
Falcons reporter Joe Patrick shared a clip of quarterback Michael Penix Jr. speaking about Rutenberg, who as a passing game coordinator doesn’t have regular media availabilities during the season.
The young QB’s response should have Browns fans feeling a lot better about the hire.
“He’s a dawg,” Penix said. “I say that because I just saw him. He came up to me after the game just now. He was like, ‘Man you’re a dawg, bro. I appreciate you.’ I said, ‘Nah, you a dawg.’ He said, ‘I f—ing know.’
That’s the way he is, man. He’s a guy that cares, and you can see the passion that he has for this game, and the love that he has for this team. … Whenever he steps on that field, you can tell that this is what he loves to do, and he displays it each and every day.”
From the very start, with their decision to hire Monken over the already established and well-respected Schwartz, the Browns have darted left whenever fans and analysts alike expected a hard right.
It’s clear now that culture was high on the Browns' priority list during this hiring cycle.
The all-ball, no-filter Monken is the complete opposite of the often robotic-like Kevin Stefanski, and you could say the same thing about Rutenberg, who figures to bring a different energy than the no-nonsense Schwartz.
The Browns needed a change following another stale, double-digit-loss season, and fans are getting that so far this offseason, for better or worse.