Category: Coaching

Who could be QB coach target if Browns lose Drew Petzing?

Could there be a reunion coming in Cleveland?

Reports are out that if Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon gets the head job in Arizona, quarterback coach Drew Petzing could be his top choice for an offensive coordinator. If that happens it will leave the Cleveland Browns looking for a new quarterback coach and they could turn to a coach who has worked with Deshaun Watson before. Veteran coach Sean Ryan was Watson’s coach in Houston in 2017 and 2018 and might be a target for the Browns.

During Watson’s rookie year with Ryan, he only appeared in seven games before tearing his ACL. However, in 2018 Ryan helped guide Watson to an impressive season where he completed 68.3 percent of his passes for 4,165 yards and 26 touchdowns with only nine interceptions.

Sean Ryan is a well-respected coach in the NFL where his career started over a decade ago with the Giants in 2007. Ryan spent the last two seasons as the quarterbacks coach in Carolina and likely will be available with the coaching change.

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For obvious reasons, Myles Garrett was a major part of Jim Schwartz coming to town

Myles Garrett was a priority for the Browns in their decision to hire Jim Schwartz

The thought of coaching Myles Garrett is intriguing to most defensive coaches. The Cleveland Browns star was a major factor in the decision to hire Jim Schwartz.

According to Browns beat writer Mary Kay Cabot, the team “opted for the most experienced coordinator and the one whose system would best maximize Myles Garrett.”

Of the candidates, the team interviewed Schwartz was by far the most experienced. As Cabot continues today, Myles has thrived in similar schemes as what Schwartz runs traditionally. It is clear the team understood how important this hire was and wanted to make sure they got it right, we will see if they did.

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Kevin Stefanski confirms he is not a robot

In other news, Kevin Stefanski confirms he can get angry but prefers to stay even-keeled on Sundays.

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski has gotten some backlash from fans about not showing enough emotion. Perhaps that is what new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is for. During an interview with 92.3 the Fan, Stefanski talked about it.

“Yeah, the Philly comes out in me every once in awhile. You don’t see it one gameday, well maybe at the officials…but I want our team to play with composure.”

This makes sense that Stefanski wants his team to stay composed. A team lacking composure could be prone to mental mistakes and penalties. Fans questioned if Stefanski is the man for the job but it’s his composure when in the chaos that is valuable. Coaches don’t have to be animated to be good coaches some good coaches are and some aren’t.

It isn’t an easy job but it’s clear from this interview that Kevin Stefanski is giving the team everything he has.

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Jim Schwartz credits humble beginnings and football journey for success

The Browns DC started from the bottom and learned the hard way.

New defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz’s NFL journey started as an unpaid intern for Bill Belichick with the Cleveland Browns. He learned from Belichick and Nick Saban while doing the non-glamorous work. He worked hard almost living in the office just learning everything he possibly could about this game. He creates those years and the things he learned for the success he has since had as a defensive coach.

Schwartz said on Wednesday that he got his “Ph.D. in footballology” from the Browns and Bill Belichick. He is a coach that can point to success and consistency to convince players to buy into what he’s teaching as it leads to success.

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New DC Jim Schwartz is ready to hold his best players most accountable

Jim Schwartz believes all players should be coached the same.

The Cleveland Browns introduced their new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz on Wednesday. During his introductory press conference, he talked about his philosophy of coaching all players the same. Schwartz put emphasis on making sure all players are held accountable regardless of status or standing with the team. He spoke about respect for players and earning it by treating the undrafted player the same as your superstar players.

“I will say this, if I am doing a good job, we will hold our best players the most accountable. If you start from that position, then everything else is gravy. If you do not hold your best players most accountable, then you can have some bad vibes and different things can go on because they know like, ‘Hey, you are coaching that guy and you said that to him because he is an undrafted free agent as opposed to a first-round draft pick, a high-priced free agent or a veteran player.’ If I am doing a good job here, we will coach the undrafted free agent the same way we do the veteran player who has been to multiple Pro Bowls”

It is clear that Schwartz is looking to establish trust with his players to get the most out of them on the field.

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Get to know defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz by the numbers

What do the numbers and rankings say about Jim Schwartz

The Cleveland Browns hired Jim Schwartz as their new defensive coordinator, and he has had a long career in the NFL starting in the early 1990s. In total, he has been a defensive coordinator for 14 seasons with three different franchises. He also had five seasons as a head coach with the Detroit Lions. With his wealth of experience, he had the longest resume of any of the candidates the team interviewed.

Schwartz isn’t perfect but he has experienced some success just about everywhere he has worked in the league. The team needs him to be better than Joe Woods and the numbers show that he is a definitive upgrade.

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Are the Browns looking for a complete defensive philosophy change?

How different scheme-wise will next year’s defense look?

The Cleveland Browns continue to look for a new defensive coordinator with their third interview on Saturday with Dennard Wilson. Two of the Browns’ first three interviews have been with coaches with drastically different philosophies from what Joe Woods ran. Brian Flores and Wilson both run defenses that are considered aggressive defenses using more pressure and blitzes to force opposing offenses into quick decisions or negative plays. Some fans are happy to hear this as they have called for the team to blitz more and be more aggressive for three years.

Even Jim Schwartz, the other candidate, is known for his ability to manipulate the defensive line and pressure the quarterback. Schwartz doesn’t utilize a ton of blitzes but rather is a coach that is incredibly creative in getting pressure from just the four defensive linemen.

It will be interesting to see if ultimately the team goes with an aggressive style coach that focuses on pressure or not. But it is clear early on this offseason that they plan on some big changes on the defensive side of the ball.

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Know the Candidate: What can Jim Schwartz bring to the Browns?

Get to know the man interviewing in Berea today.

The Cleveland Browns are interviewing Jim Schwartz today as their potential Joe Woods replacement as defensive coordinator. They are bringing in Brian Flores tomorrow as well as they have already cast a focused net on four candidates. Before we get to Flores, however, we take a look at Schwartz and what he could bring to Cleveland.

The former head coach of the Detroit Lions has served most recently as a senior defensive analyst with the Tennessee Titans, but before that won a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles under Doug Pederson. In his run with the Eagles, Schwartz typically ran a middle-of-the-pack unit in terms of DVOA.

Get to know a bit more about the scheme of Schwartz here.

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Ranking potential defensive coordinator candidates for the Browns

Who is best for the DC position for the Browns?

The Cleveland Browns officially announced the firing of defensive coordinator Joe Woods after three seasons with the team. The list of names they have requested permission to interview has started to take form on Monday as well. Though this list may not be complete so far it is a nice list of candidates that should be upgrades over Woods.

Among the candidates, there are guys with head coaching experience, a long track record, and some former NFL players. The Browns need to find someone whom players listen to, someone who is a leader, someone who commands the room, and someone who gets players to buy into their vision.

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Let’s rank the candidates that are reported so far for the Browns.

Browns could be in line for more comp picks as Glenn Cook interviews with Titans

The Browns may lose their assistant general manager but gain some draft picks in the process.

The Cleveland Browns may lose another member in their front office after the Titans requested permission to interview assistant general manager Glenn Cook. Last offseason the team lost Kwesi Adofo-Mensah when he took the general manager position with the Minnesota Vikings. One year later another team looks to poach from the Browns front office to fill their general manager vacancy.

Just like with Adofo-Mensah if Glenn Cook were to get this job the Browns would receive a third-round compensatory pick this season and next season. the NFL has the policy to promote diversity in the league that grants a team two third-round picks if a minority coach or execute is promoted elsewhere.

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