Know the Candidate: What can Jim Schwartz bring to the Browns?
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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Browns defensive coordinator tracker: Stay up to date as Browns seek to replace Joe Woods
What is his blitz rate?
Similar to Woods, Schwartz does not prefer to bring pressure outside of his front four. Different from Woods, however, Schwartz knows how to isolate his stars upfront in favorable matchups. This should be music to the ears of Myles Garrett as he faced the most double-teams and the most difficult matchups of any pass rusher in 2022. And he still managed to rack up 16 sacks in two seasons in a row.
Overhaul at the defensive tackle position is needed regardless, but Schwartz does a better job at masking weaknesses along the interior. However, giving Schwartz somebody who he can also look to isolate on the interior, and has historically had excellent defensive tackles to work with.
Look for Schwartz to advocate for a top talent at the position to play with as he has coached the likes of Albert Haynesworth, Fletcher Cox, and Jeffrey Simmons to worlds of success in his career.
Schwartz prefers to give receivers hell at the line of scrimmage
Schwartz prefers to stick in a Cover-1 or Cover-3 base coverage, doing his best to wall off the middle of the field. This is an obvious scheme fit for the Browns as they have the defensive backs to man up with any receiver in the NFL in Denzel Ward, Greg Newsome II, and Martin Emerson.
With Cover-3 being his preference in the zone, this is not a huge shift from Woods, who loves Cover-3 and quarters coverage. This also means, however, the Browns will need to find a safety they trust in single-high over the top. Grant Delpit flashed a bit over the top against the Washington Commanders but is best deployed as a robber and working downhill.
Given his preference for Cover-1 in man, the Browns may also perfectly utilize the talents of Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah as he will be tasked to match up head-for-head on tight ends and backs at a higher frequency.
How Schwartz opts to defend the run
As a run defender, Schwartz is similar to Woods in his desire to contain off the edge, forcing action back inside. He has the edge rushers to do so to allow his linebackers to clean up but does not have the defensive tackles.
Given the athletic ability of the linebackers in Cleveland, they may be better suited for a spill philosophy that looks to stretch runs outside toward the boundary. Schwartz will utilize wide alignments with one and three techniques along the interior. This relies on a safety dropping into the box as well, and given the success of Grant Delpit down the stretch, we can assume the Browns have that guy on the roster.
Again, it is hard to tell what works and what doesn’t with the run defense in Cleveland when linebackers are constantly covered due to the poor play of a bottom-of-the-barrel defensive tackle room. But this would not be a huge philosophy shift against the run.
Final thoughts on Schwartz
Overall, the addition of Schwartz as the defensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns would not ask them to make many personnel shifts. The biggest shifts come along the interior of the defense as he loves to work with defensive tackles who he can isolate one-on-one. This is his preference instead of sending blitzes at a high level, as his blitz rate is along the same percentage as that of Woods.
This ability to get one-on-ones should bring joy to Garrett, however, after three years of scratching and clawing through doubles and chips. The philosophy of Schwartz’s scheme is very pass-rush-first oriented.
The second key change Schwartz would be the need for a true free safety. If Schwartz is going to give a ton of Cover-1 and Cover-3 single-high looks, then he is going to have to have a guy with range who can cover ground over the top. That guy is not currently on the Browns’ roster.
