In what has now apparently become a staring contest between the Cleveland Browns and estranged defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, there are two looming questions that need to be settled. The first is, obviously, whether Schwartz and the team can mend fences to the point that he comes back and resumes his role in his old job. The second is trickier, and may be where this is heading: If Schwartz leaves, does he have a landing spot waiting?
Obviously, here here in early February, most head-coaching and coordinator jobs are already filled. There’s not much left for Schwartz to choose from. But he is still considered one of the best defensive coordinators in the game, which means that the one coach who has not filled out his staff–Klint Kubiak, who is now the offensive coordinator for the Seahawks and will soon take the reins as the Raiders head coach.
Kubiak will coach in the Super Bowl on Sunday, then assume his role. And Schwartz could very much be on his radar as his next defensive coordinator.
Raiders Could ‘Make a Run at a Landing’ Jim Schwartz
As SI.com insider Albert Breer wrote this week, the Browns could lose Schwartz to the Raiders in the coming days.
He writes: “As for Jim Schwartz, if he’s not back in Cleveland, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Klint Kubiak make a run at landing him, once he coaches his last game as Seahawks OC on Sunday.”
There are no direct ties between Schwartz and Klint Kubiak, bus certainly, Schwartz’s reputation precedes him, as well as the fact that he took a defense that was rated No. 25 by Pro Football Focus in the year before he arrived and improved it to sixth in his first year. The Browns were rated No. 8 in the NFL in 2024, and No. 2 in 2025.
Browns Jim Schwartz Standoff About Money?
As for settling the Schwartz-Browns standoff, the suggestion from Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio is that a divorce is coming and what’s happening now is deciding how that divorce happens. If the Browns wait out Schwartz and force him to ask for his release from his contract, the team won’t have to pay him. If he outlasts the Browns and forced them to fire him, they’ll have to pay the remaining two years of his contract.
Putting it all together: The Browns could wind up, then, paying Schwartz to coach the Raiders.
Writes Florio: “If Schwartz is fired, a new team could pay him less this year than he was due to make, with the Browns on the hook for the excess. So Schwartz could be waiting to be fired, and the team could be waiting for him to officially ask to be set free.”
GettyDefensive coordinator Jim Schwartz of the Cleveland Browns
Browns Could Hire From Within
Most likely, though, the Browns have the upper hand in that waiting game, because they have their defensive staff still in place and could simply promote someone from within to run Schwartz’s defense.
Monken indicated that was the plan with his rather stark signal that the Browns do not need Schwartz to run his system.
Said Monken: “First off, my anticipation is we are not going to change the system. Very difficult to go against. Not planning on changing the system. We’re built for the system that they’re in currently. I am not gonna get into staffing, because now is not the time to get into that. But they can be rest assured that we’re going to be in the same system. We’re still going to let them attack, we’re still going to let them play free. I can’t see another way.
“They’re a big reason why I took this job. The defensive players. I didn’t take this job because of Jim Schwartz. I have a lot of respect for Jim Schwartz, as I would hope he has for me. But I took it because of the players who are here, the ownership, Andrew Berry and the ability to build this roster from the ground up on the offensive side.”
Browns’ Jim Schwartz Could Be Poached by Super Bowl Coach