It's been a busy week for the Cleveland Browns. On top of announcing Todd Monken as the 19th head coach in franchise history, the former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator has made a flurry of hires for his coaching staff.
However, all of those moves have been for the offensive side of the field. The team still has no word on whether defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz will return, and Monken reportedly prefers to keep the defensive coaching staff intact (if possible).
That's why, even though the clock is ticking and the new coaching staff has to get to work, Monken is in no hurry right now. Addressing the media in his introductory press conference, he shared a candid response to the questions surrounding the coaching staff.
“Don’t get worn out, make sure you get the right people from the start. So there’s no timeline,” the head coach said.
Todd Monken isn't rushing to complete Browns coaching staff (and that’s a good thing)
Of course, this doesn't mean that Monken's just going to sit around and wait until Schwartz decides whether he wants to be a part of the team or not.
In fact, he made it loud and clear that he cared much more about the players than the coaches, and he was blunt by admitting that he didn't take the Browns' head coaching position because of the defensive coordinator.
In an ideal world, Schwartz will cool off and return to fulfill his contractual obligations with the organization. While he has a right to feel a certain type of way for being bypassed for the head-coaching gig, he's still under contract for the next couple of years, and he needs to act like a professional.
Schwartz and his position coaches did an amazing job of putting together one of the strongest defensive units in the game. This team was a competent — not even great — offense from potentially making the playoffs. And with Monken hellbent on fixing that unit, keeping Schwartz and company in town could work wonders for this team.
Then again, if he's still adamant about not coming back, then the Browns must cut ties with him as soon as possible. They can't afford to have anybody holding the team back, not even one of the coaches. If he's not fully bought in and won't do his job to the best of his abilities, there should be no room for him on Monken's staff.