![\"Ex-Browns](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2236583117-e1775209985759.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Ex-Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.<\/p>\n
The Cleveland Browns<\/a> have provided their clearest explanation yet for why they ultimately passed over Jim Schwartz for their head coaching job.<\/p>\n Speaking at the NFL<\/a> owners meetings, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam directly addressed Schwartz\u2019s departure. He acknowledged the decorated defensive coordinator came close to landing the head coaching job before the organization ultimately went in a different, offensive direction.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I thought Jim did a really nice job. He made it all the way to the very final group because he did a really nice job,\u201d Haslam said of Schwartz<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cWe know Jim really well. There was a bias to hire an offensive guy. So there\u2019s nothing against Jim. He did a nice job.\u201d<\/p>\n Schwartz reportedly stormed out of the building<\/a>, packed up his office, and told people close to him that he was done in Cleveland after being passed over in favor of Todd Monken.<\/p>\n Mike Rutenberg Steps In for Browns<\/p>\n The Browns turned to Mike Rutenberg to replace Schwartz<\/a>. He spent last season as the Atlanta Falcons\u2019 defensive passing game coordinator. It marks Rutenberg\u2019s first opportunity to run a defense at the NFL level.<\/p>\n Monken was drawn to Rutenberg\u2019s familiarity with the system and the energy he brings to the role. But just as importantly, Monken\u2019s commitment is to continuity. The new head coach has made it clear he has no intention of overhauling a defensive scheme that powered one of the league\u2019s top defenses in recent seasons.<\/p>\n The Browns finished fourth in total defense<\/a> (283.6 yards allowed per game) last season. Cleveland\u2019s defense was anchored by two-time Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett, five-time Pro Bowler Denzel Ward, and Defensive Rookie of the Year Carson Schwesinger.<\/p>\n Monken has also been blunt about the reason he was hired.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a reason why I was hired here,\u201d Monken said<\/a>. \u201cLet\u2019s not kid ourselves. I was hired to become elite on offense and that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to fight every day to be, and I\u2019m fired up because I think we have a chance to really take off. I really do. I think the time is right now to take off and really build it the way you want, so you\u2019re consistently competing for championships.\u201d<\/p>\n Browns May Have Myles Garrett Issue<\/p>\n Garrett is the leader of the defense but has done little to back the new leadership. When reports surfaced that Schwartz was threatening to leave, Garrett posted a meme to his Instagram story<\/a> depicting a woman slumped over in exhaustion. Garrett had praised Schwartz openly at the end of last season.<\/p>\n \u201cTo play for Jim has been an honor and a privilege,\u201d Garrett said. \u201cHe\u2019s a great coach. He\u2019s a great man of character and a great leader. So I just appreciate the fact that I\u2019ve been coached by him.\u201d<\/p>\n The Browns reworked Garrett\u2019s contract this offseason, creating a clearer path to trade him<\/a>. However, the team has stated emphatically that they have no plans to move Garrett. He\u2019s coming off a record-setting season<\/a> where he notched 23 sacks.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tJ.R. DeGroote<\/a> JR DeGroote is a staff writer for Heavy.com, where he has covered the NFL, NBA, and trending sports stories since 2019. His work focuses on some of the most passionate fanbases in sports, including reporting on the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Lakers. More about J.R. DeGroote<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Browns\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Ex-Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. The Cleveland Browns have provided their clearest explanation yet for why they…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":852231,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2054],"tags":[86,85,54,2337,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-852230","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-clevelandbrowns","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116343422923816173","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852230","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=852230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852230\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/852231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=852230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=852230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=852230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}