Jim Schwartz has to decide if he'd rather take a second chance as an NFL head coach, or if he'd rather win another Super Bowl ring as a defensive coordinator.
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns and NFL analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Takeaways from Browns head coach search …
1. Since December, I have been writing and saying, and writing and saying, that the Browns can’t afford to let defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz leave the building when they choose their next head coach. Now the Browns have reached an inflection point in their search. And the ball is in Schwartz’s court.
2. Starting on Monday, the Browns begin a round of second interviews with some candidates. First up is Schwartz. What’s going on is very clear. In the absence of a Jimmy Haslam “Hail Mary,” there is no “gotta-have-him” candidate. So the Browns are trying to pair Schwartz with an offensive coordinator in some fashion. Either Schwartz stays as DC with a new, offensive-minded head coach, or Schwartz is promoted to head coach and paired with one of Andrew Berry’s hand-picked, young, unproven, offensive genius-to-be. The process is flawed, of course, but it is where they’re at. The Browns should choose the best head coach – period! – and then butt out and let the head coach pick his staff. The Browns’ process already has compromised their next head coach. By agreeing to such conditions to take the job, the next Browns’ head coach is signing off for Berry to, say, trade your starting quarterback or your backup quarterback without notice. Ask Kevin Stefanski what it’s like to coach your team when that happens.
3. On Monday, the Browns begin a round of second interviews with Schwartz, and then Todd Monken, who is the biggest surprise – by far – of their search. How has Monken advanced this far? He is not even the best offensive coordinator available and, at 59, does not fit the profile of Berry’s preferred offensive-minded coach. My theory is that they know, or believe, that Monken is a head coach candidate with whom Schwartz might be willing to continue on as defensive coordinator. I don’t believe the opposite pairing – Schwartz as head coach, Monken as offensive coordinator – is a possibility. Monken has to see following John Harbaugh to the New York Giants as a much better option than that.
4. So this is how Schwartz controls the whole Browns’ coaching search. He is the best head coach candidate for them. Why? For three years, he has coached – and helped to construct – the best Browns’ defense seen in Cleveland since Bill Belichick’s 1994 edition. He has held his players accountable and earned their respect. Schwartz’s defense is pretty much the only source of national acclaim in the entire Haslam organization. If Haslam handed out “employee-of-the-year” citations, Schwartz would have earned them three years in a row. Now, if you’re Schwartz, are you going to let Berry dictate whom you can hire? What offense you’re going to run? Who’s playing quarterback? That’s for him to decide.
5. At 59, this probably is Schwartz’s last chance to be an NFL head coach. His first run in Detroit had highs and lows, and ended 12 years ago. That’s an eternity in the NFL. The record of coaches getting a second run after that long is limited. Dick Vermeil returned to the ranks as Rams coach 15 years after resigning as Eagles coach. Vermeil went on to win the Super Bowl with the Rams. But Vermeil had a winning record and a Super Bowl appearance in his first venture with the Eagles; Schwartz was 29-51 as Lions coach. Joe Gibbs was another Super Bowl coach who had a second run, returning to the Washington Redskins 12 years after he retired. Gibbs’ second stint with Washington was doomed by serving under Dan Snyder, one of the worst team owners in NFL and professional sports history, and he didn’t approach his previous success. Another coach who returned to the main job after more than a decade was Ted Marchibroda. He was fired as Baltimore Colts head coach in 1979, and returned in 1992 to coach the Indianapolis Colts. Marchibroda’s second stint resulted in only one playoff season in four years. So, the odds of Schwartz being a winning coach in a second life are not great.
6. Schwartz must decide what is his priority at this stage of his career. Is it getting another crack at the head coach position? Or is it claiming another Super Bowl championship as a defensive coordinator? Is it staying put with a comfortable position as Browns defensive coordinator? Or is putting another house up for sale and latching on to a team closer to the Super Bowl? The Dallas Cowboys come to mind.
7. Whatever Schwartz decides will determine the next Browns head coach. If Schwartz accepts the Browns’ head coach job under the condition of teaming with an offensive coordinator of Berry’s choice, he may fulfill one career goal -- but not two.