CLEVELAND, Ohio — When the Browns fired Joe Woods last week, players were vocal about what they think is needed in a new defensive coordinator.
Two quotes come to mind in particular as veteran coach Jim Schwartz was chosen as Wood’s replacement to overhaul Cleveland’s talent-filled but underperforming unit.
Greg Newsome II talked about shortening the defensive “menu” to allow players to make plays.
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“I honestly just think it’s just going to be more vanilla,” Newsome said. “If you have the talent that we have on defense, just call base material, just allow us to go out there, keep our eyes on the quarterback and just play ball. So I feel like Joe did a great job in the second half of the year when he just realized, ‘You know what, okay, maybe we don’t have to call everything, let’s just shorten the menu and just let these guys out and play. ‘ And I think once we did that, you can see how the acquisition started.
John Johnson III brought up a similar point, saying that at times it felt like the Browns were accidentally tricking themselves while attempting to fake opposing offenses.
But he also said that whatever the new system looks like, some intangibles are almost secondary.
“I don’t like talking about plans that much because I think everything is working out,” Johnson said. “I think getting your players to play, that’s the bottom line. And this is in the soccer period. When your little kids, all the way through high school, college, get your players to play with you and go into battle, run through a brick wall for you. I think that’s what I’m looking for.”
Sure, Schwartz will have a lot to prove on the field when he takes over next season — but based on his career record, he seems like the right fit when it comes to what players want in a new coordinator.
Allowing playmakers to focus on getting to the ball is the hallmark of his wide-9 scheme, which gives pass rushers extra room to do what they do best: reach the quarterback. This system has defensive ends outside of opponent’s tackles and forces one-on-one encounters.
Throughout his respectable career, Schwartz has also developed a pattern for turning around defense — perhaps most notably when he joined the Eagles in 2016 with Doug Peterson. The following year, Philadelphia won a Super Bowl, taking away the ball 31 times and allowing the fewest rushing yards in the league.
His solid run defense has also become a staple throughout his career.
Most recently, he spent the last two years as a senior defense assistant with the Titans. That season, Tennessee was ranked #1 in Rushing Defense DVOA by Football Outsiders. They allowed just 76.9 yards per game, the NFL best, and also allowed just 3.4 yards per carry at first.
In addition to a scheme that should match the Browns’ stars, given all of his experience, including experience as a head coach, he brings a certain seriousness to the role that’s required considering that there are communication, technique and discipline issues on the defensive side run amok ball for most of 2022.
There were at least four public benches for disciplinary reasons, including rookie Perrion Winfrey, who missed the Jets game, both Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney, who had to sit out the opening series of the Saints and Home Bengals games, and Grant Delpit, who missed the first was benched to play against Miami.
“Way too many, way too many,” Johnson said of the disciplinary issues last week. “You want to focus on winning, focus on football. It’s hard to do that when you have small stuff. It’s a job, it’s a profession. You have to be ready every day.”
Given that Schwartz emerged in the Bill Belichick school of thought (he even started out in the NFL as a Browns scout in the Belichick era of 1993-1995), it’s hard to believe any of those discipline issues would fly.
Given the past accomplishments of his defense and the respect he’s garnered throughout his 30-year NFL career, perhaps no one is better suited to what Cleveland needs to change the most than Schwartz.
On paper, like so much of Cleveland’s defense, it’s perfect.
Now it’s up to Schwartz and the Browns to prove it can be the perfect recipe on the field too.
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