It’s now been over five years since Gregg Williams was fired midseason by the New York Jets, effectively ending one of the most polarizing NFL coaching careers in recent memory.
Williams’ defenses were a bear to deal with, aggressive to a fault at times. The fiery coach is known best for his lead role in the New Orleans Saints Bountygate scandal, which led to an indefinite NFL suspension in 2012 for administering a pay-for-performance/bounty system on opposing players. He had multi-year stints with the Rams, Browns, and Jets after being reinstated. He later took a few years off, and returned to coaching first in the UFL, and most recently with Tennessee State in 2025.
Fans of the Cleveland Browns remember Williams as their former DC who briefly took over for head coach Hue Jackson following his firing in October of 2018. He’s been a forgotten man since the start of the Kevin Stefanski era in 2020, but Cleveland’s latest prominent coaching hire, defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg, has hidden ties to Williams — and Jim Schwartz — that should catch fans’ attention.
The source? Williams’ son, Blake, a former Browns assistant coach who provided first-hand insight into Rutenberg and his unique background in Cleveland's current “wide-9” defensive system.
The coaching tree behind Browns’ new DC might surprise fans
The Browns have been excelling in Schwartz’s version of the wide-9, which is typically run out of a four-man front with a defensive end — in Cleveland’s case, one of the best ever in Myles Garrett — positioned off the tight end. It’s a pressure look that gives prominent speed rushers a direct line to the quarterback.
The scheme traces back to Williams and defensive line guru Jim Washburn with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans, after they spent the 16th overall pick on Jevon Kearse in the 1999 NFL Draft. Williams served as defensive coordinator from 1997 to 2000, and Schwartz was an assistant on his staff for two years there.
Williams left to become head coach of the Buffalo Bills for three years before taking the wide-9 to Washington under head coach Joe Gibbs. That’s where he first linked up with Rutenberg, who was a defensive assistant and personnel intern during Gibbs’ tenure.
In 2004, Rutenberg held the title of "associate assistant to the head coach," and that connection to a Hall of Famer like Gibbs was pointed out by several NFL insiders on Monday.
But behind the scenes, Rutenberg, Blake Williams, and Arthur Smith were all viewed more as quality control coaches who reported to Gregg Williams, Washington’s DC and assistant head coach at the time.
Fun little background on Coach Rudy. A few yrs older than me, his coach at Cornell was my coach @ Princeton. He connected us way back then. Rudy & I both got our starts as QC’s basically just getting MFed by @CoachGreggSB44 in WAS. The third QC on that staff, was Arthur Smith. pic.twitter.com/GYuJxRH5YR
— Blake Williams (@Coach_BWilliams) February 16, 2026
So while Rutenberg never coached with Schwartz, he traces his roots back to the original source, and has added experience in the scheme under Robert Saleh with the 49ers and Jets. That unique background clearly stuck with Browns brass during the interview process this past week.
“Rudy has spent his entire career in this system through its various evolutions,” Blake Williams tweeted of Rutenberg on Monday. “What changes from play caller to play caller in system is 1) what coverages they decide to play behind the front, 2) what frequency mix of them, and 3) how often & how many of the blitzes they use or don’t use. Rudy is very smart & hard working, players love him, and he’s developed all-pro players at LB & DB as their position coach each place he’s been.”
With a mostly unknown coaching name like Rutenberg, there’s always going to be some angst among fans (and understandably so). He’s stepping into a good situation, but has some major shoes to fill as a first-time defensive coordinator.
Browns fans know the name Gregg Williams, though, and the added context on Rutenberg’s background (along with some glowing endorsements) should have Browns fans seeing the overall vision behind this hire.