By Jake Burns
The Browns have a major decision to make at defensive coordinator and it's not your run-of-the-mill decision for a coaching hire. This hire has the ability to change the course of the franchise or set it back to the relaunch phase we have seen many times since the relaunch of the organization in 1999.
With
Kevin Stefanski set to enter his fourth year at the helm of the organization, he is trying to light a spark under a defense that fell flat on too many key occasions. With the hire being about more than just X's and O's, the Browns know they have to find the right guy for the role. The role that entails being the CEO of the Browns' defense to match the CEO Stefanski is to the Browns' offense.
Earlier this week, Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry spoke on the topic of what they will be looking for in upcoming hire. “I don’t know if there is one specific set of criteria. We are excited about some of the people who we will be able to talk to, and everybody’s résumé is going to be a little bit different so I am very open-minded in that regard. This is a process that you have to stay true to. I want to make sure that we meet with all of the candidates and understand what they are about. I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, so of speak. I want to make sure that we remain true to it, trust in it, really get to know these candidates, and see how that vision fits in with what we are trying to accomplish.”
The first name set to face the Browns today was
Jim Schwartz. The experienced defensive mind who got his start in the NFL under
Bill Belichick as a personnel scout in Cleveland from 1993-1995 and eventually broke into leading the Tennessee Titans defense for nearly a decade in the 2000s. Schwartz got his first crack at running an organization with the Detriot Lions head coaching job in 2009, but the tenure ended after disappointment in 2013. Since then, Schwartz's main calling card has been running defenses again, as he led the Buffalo Bills defense in 2014, and then the Super Bowl-winning Eagles from 2016-2020.
Schwartz currently finds himself as a Senior defensive assistant with the Titans again, helping pump his ideas into a stellar defense this past year.
So, why Cleveland and why now is what you should be asking. Let's have a look.
Culture Fit
When analyzing Schwartz for the Cleveland role, I find several experiences to be noteworthy. First and foremost, the most recent makes the most sense. The Browns aren't getting the old version of Schwartz from his 2000s Titans run or his Lions days, but rather the one who led the Eagles' defenses through extreme highs and a falling out at the end with Doug Pederson, and most notably, the one who is playing a key role in expanding the scope of Mike Vrable's Titans defenses.
Before we dig into the scheme, though, we first should look at the man and what those who play for him have had to say about him. Sure, the scheme left plenty to be desired under Joe Woods, but it often lacked the correct culture, and that was their biggest undoing on that side of the ball. Schwartz seems to check plenty of the correct boxes in this field.
Schwartz brings a reputation as a fiery leader who can turn the switch on and off based on the game, practice, or whatever the team needs. The Eagles' core group late in Schwartz's tenure spoke about the intimidating nature of the veteran defensive coordinator.
"Nah, not at all. He's only 5-foot-5!" joked Timmy Jernigan, who is 6-foot-2, 295 pounds. "Nah, he ain't intimidating. But he's like a little Tic-Tac, man -- little, but he packs a lot of power. That's Coach Schwartz. But we respect the hell out of him. I never heard a guy disrespect him or anything of that nature. We've got the utmost respect for him and we love playing for him."
The Eagles' praise for Schwartz went beyond just his attitude but also into how his mind is fixated on winning.
A veteran safety at the time, Malcolm Jenkins, noted the input he allows his players to have in order to demand the accountability necessary. "Everyone contributes, and that's the fun part about it. It's not one of those things where he's just playing Madden with us as players and we have no say or control over the defense. He trusts us, which makes us prepare and take ownership and make sure that we hold ourselves accountable to him. It's a great relationship where he plays to our strength so we're able to go out there and have success. I've been around coordinators that don't like that -- it's more about their scheme and what they want to do, how they want to look."
The players who speak on Schwartz trend toward the praise we see here, and that will draw the organization's respect in the coming process.
Unlocking Front Pressure
Now, when digging into the scheme, there are plenty of parallels between the Browns' current personnel and the 4-3 approach Jim Schwartz has run throughout his career. The difference for Schwartz has been his ability to unlock pressure with the front four through his wide-9 defensive alignment and the tools of pass-rush lanes that allow his best players to get into the best spots.
Former Eagles defensive end Chris Long noted the adaptability."It's not about him, it's about winning, and I think players appreciate that. He's got as good of schemes as anybody I've played for -- and I've played for some good D-coordinators -- but he also knows when to use the exotic stuff and when to stick to the nuts and bolts."
Take this chart for example when looking at how hard life has been for Browns' key rushers.
The goal for the next defensive leader of the Browns has to be chasing the easiest path for his best pash rusher to thrive. Too often Myles Garrett has had to deal with higher degrees of burden to reach the high levels of success he does as shown above.
The Ringer's
Benjamin Solak noted this scheme is exactly right for Garrett. "If that edge rusher has a quick first step and the flexibility to bend around the arc, he should feast in Schwartz’s defense. Such was the case in 2021 when Landry produced a career-best 12 sacks and 22 quarterback hits, which led to his first Pro Bowl berth. Schwartz’s wide, attacking defensive line also creates big interior lanes through which pass-rushing defensive tackles can wreak havoc."
The Browns will have to aim to bolster their interior to match the talent Schwartz has been accustomed to in his NFL coaching days. Think Albert Haynesworth in Tennessee in those early days, Fletcher Cox with the Eagles, and now Justin Simmons with the Titans. There are ways to attack this issue, but personnel needs to be improved.
In 2020, the year before Schwartz's arrival, the Titans blitzed on 28.7% of the snaps (16th in the NFL), but they only hurried the quarterback on 7.2% of their plays (29th).
In 2021, during Schwartz's first season, Tennessee only blitzed 19.9% of the time (5th fewest in the NFL), but they still managed to hurry the quarterback 11.2% of the time (11th in the NFL). In 2022, they once again found top-15 pressure rates without rushing more than four defenders and converted those to sacks 25 times, good for 9th in the NFL.
Coverage Evolution
The looming question for Schwartz is what style of defense he will prefer in the back half of his defense. This is admittedly the weaker area of his defensive expertise. Still, many who have seen his fronts match the coverage identities of Titans defensive coordinator Shane Bowen think the two solved the perfect marriage.
As more defenses have gone to split0safety looks as the baseline for their coverage in the modern NFL, the single-high looks from Schwartz left too many vulnerabilities. With Schwartz's propensity to use the wide-9 and dual 3-technique interior players to create pash rush havoc, he also knows he had to move a man down into the box to remain gap-sound against the run. This was an issue with the Eagles late in his tenure.
The Titans were able to use more split-safety looks and support the run from those looks over the last few years. The question is if that was Bowen's hardline decision and whether Schwartz will look to take those learned principles with him and apply them to his next destination.
The Titans' defense used those split-coverage quarters, cover-2, and cover-6 looks more than you might expect for a defense that dominated the run en route to the league's best run defense overall. However, the pass defense EPA was 28th in the league and you tread a dangerous risk/reward when you run that aggressive approach. Perhaps the Browns are ready to trust their deeper secondary to handle the duties the Titans could not. The decision will give us that answer.
There are clear similarities between the Browns' current defensive approach, scheme, and personnel to what Schwartz has done in the past. The fit is there. We will see if the Browns want to mesh those things together and bring Schwartz to Cleveland or if they prefer a total overhaul.
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