The Cleveland Browns are in the middle of an in-depth coaching search at the moment, which has included nine candidates who have interviewed for the job. One of them is current defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.
At 59 years old, Schwartz is considered one of the favorites to land the job, considering his internal familiarity with the organization and the otherworldly success he’s had overseeing Cleveland’s defense.
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History says, however, that promoting a coordinator from within to be a full-time head coach is unlikely to work out for the Browns.
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First and foremost, it’s a rare move anyway, happening only 13 times over the last 30 years.
The list includes the likes of:
Bruce Coslet with the Cincinnati Bengals, promoted from offensive coordinator in 1996
Gunther Cunningham with the Kansas City Chiefs, promoted from defensive coordinator in 1999
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Dave Campo with the Dallas Cowboys, promoted from defensive coordinator in 2000
Bill Belichick with the New York Jets, promoted from defensive coordinator in 2000
Mike Martz with the St. Louis Rams, promoted from offensive coordinator in 2000
Bill Callahan with the Oakland Raiders, promoted from offensive coordinator in 2002
Jason Garrett with the Dallas Cowboys, promoted from offensive coordinator in 2011
Leslie Frazier with the Minnesota Vikings, promoted from defensive coordinator in 2011
Romeo Crennel with the Kansas City Chiefs, promoted from defensive coordinator in 2012
Ben McAdoo with the New York Giants, promoted from offensive coordinator in 2016
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Dirk Koetter with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, promoted from offensive coordinator in 2016
Dennis Allen with the New Orleans Saints, promoted from defensive coordinator in 2022
And most recently, Brian Schottenheimer, promoted from offensive coordinator in 2025
As the chart reveals, success on the field has been hard to come by in those instances, with only two coaches posting winning records before their time as head coach concluded. Martz was the first, going 53-32 across six seasons in charge, followed by Garrett, who went 85-67 during eight seasons at the helm.
The only other coach to not finish their time as head coach with a losing record was Cunningham, who finished his tenure a perfectly symmetrical 16-16. Notably, Bill Belichick never actually coached a game with the Jets and therefore never posted any record.
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All this to say, selecting Schwartz as head coach would put the Browns up against some uneasy history of failed coordinator promotions.