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Cory Undlin, then of the Philadelphia Eagles, stands with jim Schwartz. Undlin could replace Schwartz as the defensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns.
The Cleveland Browns just completed their head coaching search, made official with the introduction of new coach Todd Monken last week but are now left with a different task altogether–finding a replacement for Jim Schwartz as the defensive coordinator.
Schwartz, of course, built the Browns defense into one of the top units in the NFL in his three seasons as Cleveland’s DC, as the team finished sixth, eighth and second according to Pro Football Focus’s defensive grades ranking. But he wanted the top job replacing Kevin Stefanski as the head coach, and when the organization went with Monken instead, Schwartz vowed he was done with the Browns.
He followed through, too, resigning the final two years of his contract on Friday. Now, Monken has most of the Browns’ defensive staff remaining in place, and has vowed to keep the Cleveland defensive system the same. As for a coordinator, he essentially has two choices–promote someone from within, or pick someone he trusts from the outside.
Cory Undlin Has Worked for the Browns Before
For the second option, there is one name that keeps surfacing: Cory Undlin, the passing game coordinator for the Texans. SI.com’s Albert Breer has been mentioning him all week as a Schwartz replacement for the Browns.
Breer wrote on Twitter/X: “With Browns DC Jim Schwartz now out, as we said last week, Texans PGC Cory Undlin becomes a key name to watch. Undlin was with Todd Monken in Jacksonville in 2009 and 2010. Will be interesting to see if the Raiders pursue Schwartz next week.”
Undlin came to Cleveland from the Patriots as a defensive assistant with Romeo Crennel in 2005, and worked as a quality control coach, a special teams coach and a defensive backs coach before landing in Jacksonville. He’s also bounced through jobs with the Broncos, Eagles, Lions and 49ers.
Todd Monken Could Pick a Personal Favorite
Monken could reach out to Undlin about the job, or he could solidify his reputation with the Browns defensive coaches who had been working under Schwartz by promoting one of them. Jason Tarver, the linebackers coach, has experience as a defensive coordinator in the NFL, doing that job for the Raiders for three seasons.
Or, Monken could choose to bring in someone he knows and trusts personally, like Undlin.
Mary Kay Cabot, the Browns’ beat reporter for Cleveland.com, said on the “Orange and Brown Talk” podcast that Undlin makes more sense for Monken.
“Cory Undlin was here under Romeo Crennel in the early 2000s, and he spent four years here. So, he is very familiar with being here,” Cabot said. “And he was a close associate of Todd Monken’s when they were together with the Jacksonville Jaguars. So, I would have tendency to think he is going to want somebody like that to coordinate his defense.
“This is his opportunity to have coordinators in place that he really knows, trusts, feels comfortable with. … I think there’s something to be said for that. If I were him, I would probably lean toward doing that, hiring somebody that you feel really, really good about instead of hiring one of Jim Schwartz’s guys to be your first coordinator as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns.”
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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