The Cleveland Browns got a huge disappointment this past week when DC Jim Schwartz officially resigned from the coaching staff despite still being under contract.

That is a huge bummer. Many hate it.

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As disappointing as they may be, it is now the job of the team and newly minted head coach Todd Monken to find his replacement. The issue is the fact that Monken has stated that he isn’t changing a thing regarding the defensive scheme that Schwartz has installed. On the surface, the strategy that makes the most sense is to hire from within with a coach who is already familiar with Schwartz’s defense instead of bringing in an outsider.

Fans already know a lot about Tarver and Banda as internal candidates.

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Then again, the candidates from within just might not be the most qualified. Then what? The Browns did reach out to several coaches for the open position.

One outside candidate is Cory Undlin, the Houston Texans’ defensive pass game coordinator, whom Monken has at least reportedly “discussed the position” with:

Could Undlin come in and become the Browns’ new DC? What are his qualifications?

NFL journey

Undlin is a former college safety at Cal Lutheran University, so he has played the game on that side of the ball. He was an honors student. He worked for two colleges before getting an interview with the New England Patriots and being hired as a Defensive coaching assistant in 2004 under Bill Belichick, just in time as the Patriots defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21 in Super Bowl XXXIX.

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The following year, DC Romeo Crennel was hired as the Browns’ new head coach and offered Undlin a job as his defensive quality control coach. Undlin was later shifted to assistant special teams coach and then promoted to DB coach.

When Crennel was fired after the 2008 season, every assistant was looking for work. Undlin caught on with the Jacksonville Jaguars under head coach Jack Del Rio as a Defensive assistant and was later elevated to their DB coach from 2010-2011.

Again, another head coach was fired as Del Rio was given a pink slip. Another job search. Undlin caught on with the Denver Broncos under head coach John Fox from 2012-2014 with several job titles: Defensive quality control coach, and then DB coach.

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Fox was fired after the 2014 season, as Undlin found work as the DB coach with the Philadelphia Eagles. He survived the Pat Shurmur firing in 2015 and was hired to continue when Doug Pederson was hired as the new head coach. In 2018, the Eagles won Super Bowl LII, making Undlin’s second Super Bowl ring.

But Undlin got a promotion in 2020 when the Detroit Lions hired him as their DC under Matt Patricia, who was fired after 11 games and a 4-7-0 record. They finished 5-11-0. Undlin was out of a job once again. In the off-season, he was contacted by Pederson to return to the Eagles to be his team’s new DC. However, Pederson was soon fired, and the hiring fizzled.

From 2021-2022, he was the Pass game specialist & DB coach with the San Francisco 49ers under Kyle Shanahan before moving on to the Texans in 2023, where he remains today.

Undlin’s connection with the Browns, other than his stint from 2005-2008, is that Monken and Undlin were on the same staff with the Jaguars. During that timeframe, Monken was the WR coach.

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Throughout his coaching career, Undlin has led several defensive backs to prominence, such as CB Derek Stingley of the Texans, who was named NFL First Team All-Pro in 2024 and 2025, plus voted to the Pro Bowl those same two seasons. Stingley became the first player in NFL history to record two tackles for loss and two interceptions in a single game.

In the 2022 season with San Fran, his group led the league with 20 interceptions. 49ers S Talanoa Hufanga earned First Team All-Pro honors and his first Pro Bowl nod. With the Eagles, he directed S Malcom Jenkins to his third Pro Bowl. Under Undlin, Philadelphia was one of five teams to have three defensive backs to record 10+ pass defenses.

While with the Broncos, his DB group saw CB Chris Harris Jr., CB Aqib Talib, and S T.J. Ward each earn Pro Bowl selections.

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In all, Undlin has coached five players to earn All-Pro honors, and another six athletes who went to the Pro Bowl under his tutelage.

Undlin and his wife, Amy, have one son, Caden, and two daughters, Brooke and Taylor.