Compared to pretty much every team across the NFL, the San Francisco 49ers have had a fairly quiet start to the offseason. The biggest move that has happened that involved the Niners so far saw them lose defensive coordinator Robert Saleh to the Tennessee Titans, where he was hired to be their new head coach.
As a result, Kyle Shanahan will once again have to find a new defensive coordinator, but to this point, he hasn’t appeared to be in much of a rush to do so. That may change in the wake of the Cleveland Browns‘ surprising decision to hire former Baltimore Ravens‘ offensive coordinator Todd Monken to be their new head coach, as it looks like their defensive coordinator, Jim Schwartz, is headed for the exit door.
Jim Schwartz Quickly Emerges as Defensive Coordinator Candidate for 49ers
The Browns’ head coach search was a confusing one, to say the least. Cleveland cast a wide net when it began looking for Kevin Stefanski’s replacement, but it simply could not find a large group of candidates who were interested in the job. Eventually, it seemed like Schwartz had emerged as the favorite to land the gig, but he ended up getting passed over in favor of Monken.
All eyes have quickly turned to Schwartz to see how he responds to this development. Unsurprisingly, he isn’t particularly happy to have not landed the job, and he has reportedly made it clear to the Browns that he’s not planning to stick around and remain the team’s defensive coordinator, even though he is still under contract with them.
Cleveland could technically prevent Schwartz from leaving, but it likely won’t look to create such a big headache for Monken early in his tenure with the team. As a result, the overarching expectation is that Schwartz will be on the move, and he’s immediately emerged as a top defensive coordinator candidate across the league, with the Niners widely expected to show interest in him.
“The 49ers, among others, would likely have interest in Jim Schwartz if and when he becomes available,” Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported in a post on X. “Schwartz was in the Browns facility the past couple days in anticipation of being named head coach. But he’d already told people that if he were passed over, he wasn’t staying.”
Should the 49ers Hire Jim Schwartz?
GettyJim Schwartz reportedly is not happy after the Browns opted to hire Todd Monken as their head coach instead of him
There is still a lot that would have to happen before the 49ers potentially hire Schwartz, but it’s clear he would be a great replacement for Saleh. Schwartz’s work with the Browns’ defense is why he was even considered for their head coach opening in the first place, and he has a wealth of experience on the defensive side of the ball that would surely make him a great fit on Shanahan’s staff.
All the things that make Schwartz such a desirable defensive coordinator candidate, though, will make it difficult for San Francisco to land him. Several other teams will likely pursue him for their defensive coordinator openings, which means the Niners are going to have to nail their pitch to him. After a slow start to the search for Saleh’s replacement, though, it looks like a top candidate may have emerged from seemingly out of nowhere for San Fran.
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