Jim Schwartz turned in a resignation letter to the Cleveland Browns today, and he will most likely not be coaching anywhere in 2026. The Browns still have him under contract for 2 years. The only ways out for Schwartz are getting fired, finding a head coaching job, or being traded, so the Browns are still in full control of his future despite his decision.

Throughout the Browns head coaching search, Schwartz had felt like he was the favorite to get the job, so when it was announced that Todd Monken got the job, Jim made it clear that he wasn’t coming back.

Many Browns fans will be furious about this, but the truth is that the Browns defense will be just fine. Schwartz is a very good coach, but the Browns ran a fairly simple NFL defense that thrived because of its talent all over the field. Cleveland almost exclusively ran cover 1 under Schwartz, relying on the dominant pass rush of Myles Garrett to get home while playing man coverage with guys like Denzel Ward on the back end. This strategy has been incredibly effective under Schwartz, and Todd Monken doesn’t seem very interested in changing much about it. With that said let’s take a look at some of the potential candidates for this job going forward.

Ephraim Banda

Banda is the current safeties coach for the Browns, and has had multiple defensive coordinator interviews this offseason already. Banda would almost certainly keep the same scheme in place that the team had under Schwartz, as he’s been in Cleveland for Schwartz’s entire tenure. He has some experience as a defensive coordinator at the college level, where he was the co-DC at Miami in 2019-20, and the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Utah State in 2021-22. While he was at Utah State his defense ranked top 10 in tackles for loss in both seasons.

The Browns are his first NFL experience, and during his time with the team he has done a great job developing players like Grant Delpit and Ronnie Hickman. Delpit has been a key piece of the Browns defense throughout his career and has become a bit more consistent under Banda. Ronnie Hickman was a UDFA for the Browns in 2023, and he has developed into a starter in the Cleveland defense under Banda.

Jason Tarver

Tarver is probably the favorite to get this job and is another guy that is already in Cleveland as the linebackers coach. The Browns hired Tarver in 2020 and he’s been one of the best position coaches in the entire league since then. He has a total of 22 seasons as an NFL coach, including 3 as a defensive coordinator with the Raiders. While his defenses struggled when he was the DC, that was 14 years ago, and in his time with the Browns he has done a fantastic job with the linebackers.

Tarver has developed some stars in Cleveland, starting with Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. Before his unfortunate injury last year, JOK was one of the best linebackers in the league, and clearly one of the 3 best players on a loaded defense. This year, Tarver had Carson Schwesinger playing at an incredibly high level that ended up earning Defensive Rookie of the Year honors last night. Devin Bush might be the biggest indicator of Tarver’s coaching abilities. Bush was a former Steelers first round pick that’s bounced around the league and was considered a bust by almost everybody. This year in Cleveland, Bush finally started to show the potential that got him drafted in the first round and he has certainly earned himself a large payday this offseason.

Cory Undlin

Undlin is a guy that is not inside the Browns building already. Undlin is currently the Texans defensive pass game coordinator, and coached alongside Todd Monken in Jacksonville earlier in their careers. He’s coached in the NFL since 2004 and has contributed to a similar defense in Houston over the past 3 years under Demeco Ryans.

Albert Breer reported that his ties to Monken make Undlin a “key name to watch” in this search for the Browns. While I expect the Browns to hire one of the guys that are already in the building, Undlin would also be a great fit for what the team wants to do, as the defense he was a part of in Houston ran a lot of the same stuff Cleveland did.

Regardless of who Cleveland hires, the Browns defense should still be elite next year. There’s just too much talent on that defense for them to fail. Carson Schwesinger and Mason Graham will only be better in year 2, and guys like Denzel Ward and Myles Garrett have been elite for years. So if you are still worried about this defense moving forward because of the loss of Jim Schwartz, I encourage you to calm down, because this defense will be just fine next year.