Check out photos of who the Browns are interviewing to be their next head coach
FILE - In this Sunday, Dec. 16, 2018 file photo, Minnesota Vikings interim offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski watches from the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins in Minneapolis. The Minnesota Vikings have appointed Kevin Stefanski as offensive coordinator, after his interim stint over the last three games of the season. The 36-year-old Stefanski was promoted on Dec. 11 to replace John DeFilippo, who was fired in his first season on the job amid persistent struggles by the Vikings in moving the ball. Stefanski was a candidate for the head coach vacancy with the Cleveland Browns, who instead picked their own interim offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn, File)
FILE - In this Jan. 4, 2020, file photo, New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels watches his team warm up before an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Tennessee Titans, in Foxborough, Mass. With the Carolina Panthers and New York Giants completing coaching hires on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020, the Cleveland Browns job vacancy will be the last NFL opening filled. It's still unclear how quickly that will happen. The Browns, who fired Freddie Kitchens after just one season, are in the second week of interviews and have scheduled meetings this week with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Vikings coordinator Kevin Stefanski. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)
San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh looks on during warmups prior to an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019, in New Orleans. The 49ers defeated the Saints, 48-46. (Ryan Kang via AP)
FILE - In this June 12, 2019, file photo, Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman speaks with reporters at the NFL football team's training facility in Owings Mills, Md. The success of the Ravens has created an interest in coordinators Greg Roman and Don Martindale as potential candidates to fill NFL head coaching vacancies. (AP Photo/Gail Burton, File)
Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll watches the team warm up before an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2019, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane)
Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is seen on the sidelines during a game against the Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019 in Atlanta. The Falcons won 24-20. (Logan Bowles via AP)
Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy looks on during an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2019 in Detroit. The Chiefs defeated the Lions 34-30. (Joe Robbins via AP)
Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy watches from the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018, in Minneapolis. The Vikings won 24-17. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy looks on during an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2019 in Detroit. The Chiefs defeated the Lions 34-30. (Joe Robbins via AP)
New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels coaches from the sideline during an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2019, in Foxborough, Mass. New England won 24-17. (Aaron M. Sprecher via AP)
Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll watches practice at the NFL football team's training camp in Pittsford, N.Y., Thursday, July 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh during the second half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz speaks with members of the media during NFL football training camp Friday, July 27, 2018 in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy watches during the first half of the NFL football Super Bowl XLV game with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Feb. 6, 2011, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman watches pregame warmups before an NFL game against the Los Angeles Rams, Monday, Nov. 25, 2019, in Los Angeles. The Ravens defeated the Rams 45-6. (Kevin Terrell via AP)
Minnesota Vikings interim offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski walks on the field before an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2018, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)
Throughout the Browns' search for a new head coach, ClevelandBrowns.com will break down the candidates as they go through the interview process with the team. It continues with a look at Jim Schwartz, the Eagles' defensive coordinator since 2016.
1. In Schwartz's four seasons with the Eagles, Philadelphia's defense has been a source of consistency for the perennial playoff contender. He took over a defense that ranked 28th in points allowed per game and 30th in yards per game in 2015 and turned it into a unit that ranked 12th and 13th, respectively, just one year later. The defense's best work came in Schwartz's second season, ranking fourth in the league in scoring defense, total defense and turnovers forced and first in rush defense. The Eagles allowed a combined 17 points in their two NFC playoff victories before beating the Patriots in Super Bowl LII. This past season, Philadelphia dealt with numerous injuries along the defensive line but still ranked third in the league in rush defense.
2. Schwartz was the head coach of the Detroit Lions from 2009-2013, going 29-52 and making one playoff appearance. Schwartz took over following Detroit's 0-16 2008 campaign and led the Lions to their first victory in more than a year in Week 3. The Lions won two games in 2009 and added four more to the total in each of the following two seasons, peaking with a 10-6 mark in 2011. Led by young quarterback Matthew Stafford and a staunch defense, the Lions went 10-6 that year before falling to the Saints, 10-7, in the Wild Card round. Detroit fell to 4-12 the following season before going 7-9 in Schwartz's final season as head coach. "It doesn't end well for head coaches in the NFL, no matter how much you want it to," Schwartz said in Oct. 2016. "Sometimes as a coach, and I'm not speaking just for myself but probably a lot of other people, you don't enjoy yourself when you're in the moment. And I think I probably enjoy myself in the moment a little bit more now after that experience (in Detroit). I think it's a lesson you can only learn if you're in it."
3. Schwartz broke into the NFL with the Browns in 1993 as a personnel assistant for Bill Belichick. He was one of five members of Belichick's staff from that era to go on to become an NFL or college head coach, joining Nick Saban, Kirk Ferentz, Al Groh and Eric Mangini. Numerous others, including Ozzie Newsome, Mike Tannenbaum and Thomas Dimitrof, went on to become high-level NFL executives. "I owe just about my whole NFL career to him," Schwartz said of Belichick in a 2010 MLive.com story. "No. 1, for giving me the chance. And No. 2, from the preparation and the knowledge that I gained in Cleveland with him. I think that the biggest thing is preparation."
4. Schwartz spent 10 seasons with the Tennessee Titans before taking on the head coach job in Detroit. He was a defensive assistant in 1999, when the Titans won the AFC, and a linebackers coach in 2000 before he was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2001. He held that position until 2008, a final season in which the Titans ranked second in the NFL in scoring defense and seventh in total defense.
5. Schwartz grew up in the Baltimore area and played football at Mount Saint Joseph High School. Oddly, three members of the school's 1983 team have played or coached in a Super Bowl. Schwartz became the third in 2017, joining Eric Jonassen (player, Chargers) and Mike Brennan (player, Bills). Schwartz played linebacker at Georgetown University and was a teammate of standup comedian Jim Gaffigan.
