Unlike some of the other teams that made a late decision to move on from their head coach, the Cleveland Browns have been searching for a new team leader since January 5, when they fired Kevin Stefanski. The two-time NFL Coach of the Year has already found a new job as the Atlanta Falcons’ head coach. But who will coach the Browns in 2026?
Many candidates have bowed out of the competition after initially expressing some interest. As a result, the Browns may be ready to hire someone from within.
According to Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot, current Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz “seems to be gaining momentum” to become the team’s next head coach.
If so, it would end a 13-year hiatus from the last time he was an NFL head coach. Schwartz’s stint as the Detroit Lions’ head coach lasted five seasons, despite leading the team to a 2-14 record in his first year. But Schwartz improved his team to six wins, then 10, before heading back in the wrong direction, finishing with four and seven wins in his final two seasons.
By the time he was relieved of his coaching duties at the conclusion of the 2013 season, Schwartz had compiled a 29-51 record, including one playoff appearance, which ended with a 45-28 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Schwartz has been trying to return to the mountaintop ever since. His ascent started with becoming the Buffalo Bills’ defensive coordinator in 2014, but lasted just one season despite allowing the NFL’s fourth-fewest points.
He then spent five seasons as the defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles from 2016 to 2020, helping them win a Super Bowl in 2017. Schwartz then had to step away from the game after dealing with health issues. Yet, he didn’t even take a year off and reappeared as a senior defensive assistant with the Tennessee Titans from 2021 to 2022.
Then Schwartz apparently felt ready for a bigger role again, accepting a job as the Cleveland Browns’ defensive coordinator in 2023, where he’s remained ever since. In addition to helping Myles Garrett break the single-season NFL sack record in 2025, Schwartz’s defenses ranked in the top five in yards allowed in two of his three seasons in Cleveland.
Now, he may be emerging as the top candidate in Cleveland. They’re the only team he’s interviewed with. But if the Browns don’t hire Schwartz, they run the risk of him filling another team’s defensive coordinator position, meaning Cleveland would have to start over on offense and defense after winning just five games this season.
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