Jim Schwartz left the Cleveland Browns after the franchise went outside to hire Todd Monken as their new head coach. Schwartz was asked to return as defensive coordinator, but it didn’t seem workable any longer after being overlooked for the head coach job.
During his appearance on The Ryan Ripken Show, the former Browns coach offered an insight about his decision of leaving the Browns.
“We had a lot of success on defense and the Browns made a change at head coach and they passed over me with all the success that we had and the ability to develop players,” Schwartz said. “Our best players had their best years, all those different things. And that was a decision they made. They wanted to go with an offensive guy. They chose Todd. I’m fine with that. They can make decisions that they want to make, but they can’t expect me to stay on board for that.
“Anybody that’s in any business, you get passed over for a promotion when you’ve done a really, really good job in your job and you think you were in line for that promotion. It’s, you know, it’s time to go. And Todd deserved his own guy. He doesn’t, I mean, a forced marriage isn’t going to work in the NFL.”
According to Schwartz, it would have created an awkward situation for both him and Monken if he had still worked there, since the players would have viewed him differently after he had been one of the finalists for the job.
“Having command of the players and having command in the locker room, all those things are extremely important,” Schwartz added. “And I didn’t feel like I could do my job after getting passed over for the head coaching job. It sort of, you know, just put me in a tough position. Hey, we want you to listen to this guy, but we didn’t think, we didn’t want to make him the head coach. So I made the decision to resign, you know, and I have to sit out this year as a result.”
Schwartz also claimed the Browns were the best defenses in the NFL for three years under him.
Schwartz’s comments didn’t go down well with several fans as they raised their objections against the former defensive coordinator.
“One of the worst defenses on the road the last 2 years btw lol,” one fan wrote.
“Jim Schwartz is 29-51 as a head coach. Cmon man move on,” another noted.
“All of your success was a 5-12 season,” one fan added.
“defensive coordinators can build elite units and still get passed over. teams don’t just hire resumes, they hire for culture fit and organizational vision. what worked on one side of the ball doesn’t always translate to leading the whole operation,” one fan wrote.
“What success we only won four games all year last year,” one fan wrote.
Browns Tried Convincing Jim Schwartz To Stay
Jim Schwartz was reportedly “upset” after the Browns decided to give the head coach job to Todd Monken instead of him. So he just packed his bags and moved out after informing people he wouldn’t be returning.
The Browns reportedly tried to convince him to stay, but he ultimately resigned despite having one year left on his contract. He will have to sit out the 2026 season.
Later, the Browns formally announced Schwartz’s resignation.
“We’d like to thank Jim for his contributions to our organization over the last three season,” the team said. “Our search for a new defensive coordinator will begin immediately.”
Todd Monken hired Mike Rutenberg as the new defensive coordinator of the Browns.
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