Jim Schwartz Resigns as Browns DC After Cleveland Hires Todd Monken as Head Coach

Jim Schwartz resigned as defensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns in February 2026 with one year remaining on his contract. ESPN reported that the 60-year-old coordinator left after the team passed him over for the head-coaching position for the second time. Schwartz told the Ryan Ripken Show on Tuesday that the Browns chose an offensive coach instead.

"They passed over me, with all the success that we had and the ability to develop players, our best players had their best years, all those different things. And that was a decision they made," he said. Cleveland hired Todd Monken, who had served as the Baltimore Ravens' offensive coordinator for the past three seasons.

Schwartz had been one of the finalists to replace Kevin Stefanski after Stefanski was fired. The move marked the second time the Browns had passed over Schwartz for the head job. He also came up short in the 2020 hiring cycle that ended with Cleveland selecting Stefanski.

Browns co-owner Jimmy Haslam said he wanted to keep Schwartz in the organization. Schwartz said he decided to resign because he did not believe he could perform his role after being passed over. "Having command of the players and having command of the locker room, all those things are extremely important," Schwartz said.

"And I didn't feel like I could do my job after getting passed over for the head coaching job. '" "To expect me to stay and to be on board for that, that's just a tough situation, and it wouldn't have been good for me, and it wouldn't have been good for Todd," he added. Schwartz spent the past three seasons as the Browns' defensive coordinator.

In that time he led one of the NFL's top defenses. Defensive end Myles Garrett was named Defensive Player of the Year twice and set the league's single-season sack record in the 2025 season. Linebacker Carson Schwesinger was named the 2025 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Schwartz previously served as head coach of the Detroit Lions from 2009 to 2013, finishing with a 29-51 record. He told the Ryan Ripken Show that being passed over after strong performance made staying untenable. "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 time to go.

A forced marriage isn't going to work in the NFL," he said.