The Cleveland Browns don’t want to let Jim Schwartz go, and Schwartz doesn’t want to remain the team’s defensive coordinator after it selected Todd Monken as its newest head coach. Thus, the best answer could be a trade.
Coaching trades do not happen often in the NFL, but they aren’t unprecedented. In fact, the Denver Broncos traded a first-r0und pick in 2023 and a second-rounder in 2024 to the New Orleans Saints for head coach Sean Payton and a 2024 third-round selection in the most recent instance of a coach-centric trade.
Schwartz isn’t a Super Bowl-winning head coach like Payton, but he has cobbled together the Nos. 1 and 4 overall defenses in the league in Cleveland during the 2023 and 2025 campaigns, respectively. He’s a spent 17 years in the NFL as a defensive coordinator and another five as a head coach and has a history with the Philadelphia Eagles, who may be in the market for a DC sooner than later.
Thus, if the Browns aren’t interested in keeping on a disgruntled Schwartz against his will but don’t want to let major talent walk out the door for nothing, a trade with Philadelphia for a Day-2 draft pick could prove the answer.
Vic Fangio Contemplating Retiring as Eagles’ Defensive Coordinator for Second Offseason in a Row
GettyDefensive coordinator Vic Fangio of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Philadelphia owns the No. 54 pick in Round 2 and the Nos. 68 and 98 picks in Round 3.
One way to look at the situation is that the Eagles underperformed last season in their title defense, winning a weak NFC East Division and losing at home in Round 1 of the playoffs to an injury-depleted San Francisco 49ers team.
That was not the defense’s fault, but rather issues with the offense. Philadelphia has already fired offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, who held the position for one year, and replaced him with Sean Mannion. How that will work out remains to be seen.
It was the defense that carried the Eagles last season, particularly down the stretch, under DC Vic Fangio. However, Fangio is contemplating retirement according to multiple reports on Sunday, February 1.
“Sources confirm that Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is considering retirement,” John Clark of NBC Philadelphia posted to X. “The Eagles have considered Jim Schwartz and Jonathan Gannon, according to @JimmyKempski.”
Fangio, 67, seriously contemplated retirement following the team’s championship run in 2024.
“The Eagles have dealt with this before with Fangio. He went back and forth a bunch after they won the Super Bowl,” Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported. “We’ll see if he ultimately decides to step away. As one source shared, “We’ll convince him to stay.'”
Eagles’ Top Remaining Choice to Replace Vic Fangio Likely Jim Schwartz
GettyDefensive coordinator Jim Schwartz of the Cleveland Browns.
Schwartz was the defensive coordinator in Philadelphia between 2016-20, including when the team won the Super Bowl following the 2017 campaign. He has clearly shown he still has the ability to run a championship-caliber defense at the age of 59 in Cleveland.
The Eagles can’t be certain how well the offense might function under Mannion, so continuity on defense is paramount. But if the team can’t convince Fangio to stay, Schwartz is probably the top option remaining, as the Green Bay Packers recently hired Gannon to run their defense after former DC Jeff Hafley left to become the new head coach of the Miami Dolphins.
Philadelphia acquired the No. 68 overall pick in the third round via a previous trade with the New York Jets.
Given the importance of the defense in Philly in 2026 and the uncertainty of the DC position if Fangio leaves, swapping that selection straight up for Schwartz feels like a reasonable compromise on all sides — particularly if the Browns can’t make things right with Schwartz and moving forward together proves untenable.
Browns Trade Pitch Flips Jim Schwartz to NFC for High Draft Pick