{"id":749264,"date":"2026-02-13T12:52:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T12:52:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/749264\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T12:52:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T12:52:15","slug":"browns-dc-decision-todd-monken-faces-first-major-test-in-finding-jim-schwartzs-successor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/749264\/","title":{"rendered":"Browns\u2019 DC decision: Todd Monken faces first major test in finding Jim Schwartz\u2019s successor"},"content":{"rendered":"

CLEVELAND, Ohio \u2014 Todd Monken faces his first major crossroads as Browns<\/a> head coach, and his decision on who will lead the defense could set the tone for his entire tenure.<\/p>\n

The abrupt departure of Jim Schwartz has created both a challenge and an opportunity as Monken weighs promoting from within by elevating linebackers coach Jason Tarver or safeties coach Ephraim Banda or bringing in his own guy, potentially Cory Undlin, to lead a unit that was among the league\u2019s elite in 2025.<\/p>\n

The debate ignited on a recent episode of Orange and Brown Talk<\/a>, where Browns beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot offered insight into the strategic advantage of Monken hiring someone from his past rather than inheriting a Schwartz lieutenant.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is also an opportunity for Todd Monken to put his stamp on the defense, to have his guy in front of him on that staff. And somebody that he has worked with is Cory Undlin,\u201d Cabot explained. \u201cI think that one of the best things about it for Todd would be that he would be hiring his own guy instead of inheriting Jim Schwartz\u2019s guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The decision is complicated by Tarver\u2019s excellent track record developing linebackers in Cleveland, particularly 2025 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Carson Schwesinger. Promoting him would provide continuity for a defense that doesn\u2019t necessarily need fixing.<\/p>\n

However, Orange and Brown Talk host Dan Labbe points to Monken\u2019s pattern of external hires on offense as evidence of which way the winds are blowing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think my lean would probably be towards Todd going external with this and bringing in someone from the outside. I think we\u2019ve seen him doing that mostly on his offensive staff. I would lean that way,\u201d Labbe said.<\/p>\n

Undlin brings an impressive resume to the table. He\u2019s won a Super Bowl under Schwartz, has coordinator experience and previously spent four seasons in Cleveland under Romeo Crennel. Most recently, he helped the Houston Texans field the NFL\u2019s top defense in total yards allowed in 2025 as their pass game coordinator.<\/p>\n

The decision is made more dramatic by how Schwartz\u2019s departure unfolded. \u201cThat had to be pretty jarring to lose Jim Schwartz in the way that he did. Especially because, as I reported, they had a face-to-face meeting and he really tried to talk him into staying,\u201d Cabot revealed.<\/p>\n

What makes this decision particularly fascinating is that there\u2019s no wrong answer. Both Tarver and Undlin are qualified candidates who could succeed with a roster featuring stars like Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward, Carson Schwesinger and Mason Graham.<\/p>\n

The real question is philosophical: Does Monken want to maintain continuity with the personnel already in place, or does he want to bring in his own vision and perspective to a defense that already ranks among the NFL\u2019s best?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou bring a new pair of eyes to it. You get to bring in somebody who\u2019s really, really good at their job and is going to bring some of the things that he\u2019s learned as pass game coordinator under DeMeco Ryans for the past three years,\u201d Cabot said of Undlin, suggesting a fresh voice might be the direction Monken chooses.<\/p>\n

Want to hear the full breakdown of the Browns\u2019 defensive coordinator search and what each candidate would bring to Cleveland\u2019s elite defense? Listen to the latest episode of Orange and Brown Talk for Mary Kay and Dan\u2019s complete analysis of this pivotal decision that could shape the Browns\u2019 defensive identity for years to come.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the latest podcast:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Listen and subscribe to the Orange and Brown Talk podcast on Apple Podcasts<\/a> and Spotify<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Football Insider newsletter free trial: Take a minute and sign up for a free trial<\/a> of our Football Insider newsletter, featuring exclusive content from cleveland.com’s Browns reporters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLEVELAND, Ohio \u2014 Todd Monken faces his first major crossroads as Browns head coach, and his decision on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":749265,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2054],"tags":[86,85,54,103764,94864,2337,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-749264","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cleveland-browns","8":"tag-browns","9":"tag-cleveland","10":"tag-cleveland-browns","11":"tag-cleveland-browns-head-coach-todd-monken","12":"tag-cleveland-browns-2025-2026","13":"tag-clevelandbrowns","14":"tag-football","15":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116063420092830015","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=749264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749264\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/749265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=749264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=749264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=749264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}