Former Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is not hiding why his time with the franchise came to an end.
Schwartz broke his silence on his breakup with the Browns following the team’s trade of Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams this week. He helped oversee one of the NFL’s top defensive units during his run in Cleveland, but the Browns passed over him for their head coaching vacancy and instead hired Todd Monken.
Schwartz said he understood the Browns’ decision. He just did not believe it was realistic for him to stay after being passed over.
“We had a lot of success on defense, and the Browns made a change at head coach, and 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,” Schwartz told Ryan Ripken. “And that was the decision they made. They wanted to go with an offensive guy. They chose Todd. I’m fine with that.
“They can make, you know, decisions that they want to make. But they can’t expect me to stay on board for that. 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.”
Jim Schwartz Says Staying With Browns Would Have Been a ‘Forced Marriage’
Schwartz met with Monken early in the new coach’s tenure, but ultimately decided not to remain on staff. He made it clear that his decision was not rooted in anger toward Monken, but in the reality of how NFL locker rooms operate.
“Todd deserved his own guy,” Schwartz said. “A forced marriage isn’t gonna work in the NFL. And, you know, like having command of the players and having command in a locker room, all those things are extremely important, and I didn’t feel like I could do my job after getting passed over for that coaching job.”
Schwartz said he made the tough call to resign, even though it meant sitting out this season.
“We weren’t one of the best defenses in three years. We were the best defense in three years,” Schwartz said. “And the decision they made, that’s their decision.
“I wasn’t upset about it. I was disappointed about it. My experience told me that wasn’t gonna be a situation that was gonna work.”
Jim Schwartz Pushed Myles Garrett Toward Sack Record
Garrett’s departure from Cleveland came after a record-setting stretch with the Browns. Schwartz revealed how badly he wanted Garrett to get the record. He said that he was willing to let the star pass-rusher push the limits to get there.
“If he didn’t get a sack in that series, I was getting ready to tell him on the sideline ‘hey look I don’t care if you’re offsides 10 times in a row. Jump the snap count every single time. We’re getting this sack,’” Schwartz said.
Garrett is now headed to Los Angeles, leaving new Browns defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg with the challenge of preserving the standard Jim Schwartz helped establish in Cleveland.
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