As head coaching dominoes begin to fall around the league, teams are also building their staffs. This includes the new head coach of the Houston Texans, DeMeco Ryans, who has hired Matt Burke as his defensive coordinator. This is of interest to the Cleveland Browns, as Burke and new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz have a history of working together. The Browns sought to bring Burke in to interview for their defensive line coaching gig. However, the team he was then under contract with, the Arizona Cardinals, blocked this request of the Browns.
Teams will do this, only allowing coaches under contract to speak with teams about promotions. However, this would also seem to indicate that Jeff Howard may not be the only defensive staffer in Cleveland on the move as the offseason ticks on.
