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.
Rush Defensive numbers
The Browns’ run defense this past season was one of the worst in the NFL as the defensive tackle play was terrible. Jim Schwartz’s expertise with defensive line play is reflected in his defense rankings against the run. From 2014-2020 as a defensive coordinator his team’s rush defense ranked: 11th, 15th, first, seventh, third, and 23rd.
The year the Eagles were first in stopping the run they would go on to win the Super Bowl. Though the team needs some upgrades on the defensive line to give Schwartz more talent to work with the run defense will look a lot different in 2023.
Total defensive rankings
Since he was fired as the head coach of the Detroit Lions Schwartz spent one season as the defensive coordinator in Buffalo before spending five seasons with the Eagles. From 2014-2020 Schwartz’s total defensive rankings in terms of yards were the following: fourth, 13th, fourth, 23rd, 10th, and ninth.
Consistently Schwartz’s defenses are in the upper half of the league in yards allowed and often in the top 10 which is a clear upgrade. He understands how to play to his player’s strengths and put together solid game plans.
Points Allowed
Points allowed might be the most important stat to use when judging how good a defense is. From 2014-2020 as a defensive coordinator, Schwartz’s defensive rankings for points allowed were: fourth, 12th, fourth, 12th, 15th, and 20th.
In the Eagles Super Bowl championship year Schwartz set them up for success with the fourth-ranked defense in points allowed. When starting quarterback Carson Wentz went down they were able to lean on the defense as Nick Foles guided them to a Super Bowl win.
