It’s hardly a secret that the Cleveland Browns could soon be in the market for a new head coach.
To say the Kevin Stefanski era has run its course with Browns fans would be the understatement of the year. Cleveland’s offense and special teams are in the gutter. The in-game decision making has been a mess. Throw in six wins over the team’s last 32 games, and we’ve officially reached a breaking point in Berea.
Still, there’s no guarantee that owner Jimmy Haslam makes a change on Black Monday, which is only adding to the fanbases’ angst entering the new year. The latest insider chatter from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network is that the Browns remain undecided on Stefanski’s future entering these final weeks of the regular season.
That report actually checks, because Mary Kay Cabot reported earlier this month the team hopes to keep offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, who’s garnered some serious interest in the college ranks, on the staff in 2026. The Browns also have a highly-respected defensive coordinator in Jim Schwartz, who was the AP’s NFL Assistant Coach of the Year in 2023.
It’s extremely rare for an NFL front office to hire a new head coach without giving him the autonomy to hire his own staff, from the coordinators down. So if the Browns do indeed want to retain top-tier assistants like Rees and Schwartz, keeping Stefanski in his current role has to be on the table.
There is a logical way, though, for the Browns to appease the fanbase by removing Stefanski and justify keeping whatever assistant coaches on the staff they choose: an inside hire.
It just so happens that the face of Cleveland’s franchise, defensive end Myles Garrett, recently gave a glowing endorsement of a coach who would presumably be on the Browns’ short list if Stefanski gets fired.
Myles Garrett’s clear support for Jim Schwartz may point to the Browns’ next move
Schwartz’ first stint as a head coach, with the Detroit Lions, feels eerily similar to Stefanski’s dwindling run in Cleveland.
He inherited a Lions team in 2009 that had become the first in NFL history to lose all 16 regular season games. Schwartz was able to build a credible program, leading Detroit to the playoffs in 2011. But like Stefanski’s current situation with the Browns, he couldn’t sustain that success. His final two seasons ended with losing records, and at 29-51 overall, Schwartz was fired following the 2013 season.
He’s since bounced around from Buffalo, to Philadelphia, to Tennessee with old Browns friend Mike Vrabel, to Cleveland, starting with the 2023 season. He won a Super Bowl as the defensive coordinator of the Eagles in 2018, famously besting Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
There aren’t many better than Schwartz, at least on the defensive side of the ball. Garrett said as much last week, crediting his DC for helping him reach the doorstep of the NFL’s all-time single-season sack record.
“Wins and losses aren’t where we want them, for sure. It’s tough. I wish we could figure it all out a little bit sooner. But to play for Jim has been an honor and a privilege. That’s a great coach. He’s been a great man of character and a great leader. So I just appreciate that I’ve been able to be coached by him. He’s helped elevate my game and take it to the heights we see now.”
You could read into Garrett’s comments multiple ways. He’s either showing some love to a man he appreciates, but knows could be headed elsewhere due to an upcoming regime change. Or, he’s endorsing the team’s top internal candidate if ownership decides to retain GM Andrew Berry and cut ties with Stefanski next month.
Head coach promotions are rare following firings, but they definitely happen. The Patriots promoted defensive assistant Jerod Mayo to replace Bill Belichick in 2024. The Cowboys just did the same with offensive assistant Brian Schottenheimer.
Now, those may not be the best examples for Browns fans to get behind, but Schwartz, at 59 years old, deserves a second shot at being a head coach. Sticking in Cleveland is definitely still on the table, and it doesn't hurt to have a recommendation from Myles Garrett on your resume.