Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is among the candidates being considered for the vacant head coaching position. Schwartz, who has been an assistant in Cleveland for three seasons, has taken two interviews for the job, and he’s seen as one of the favorites to land it.

However, Tony Grossi doesn’t see Schwartz getting the job despite naming him as the best candidate for the job. The ESPN Cleveland analyst believes the Browns front office would have made the move to hire him earlier if they considered him the right fit to lead the franchise.

“For this team, first of all, I don’t think he’s going to be the coach,” Grossi said. “He would have been hired. He would have been the interim. That was the way to do it. They blew that. And there wouldn’t have been any mystery.

“I don’t know if he’s going to be better the second time around. The odds are he won’t. When you’re away from the head coaching job for 10 or more years, odds are you’re not going to win. So I just think the rest of the field sucks, pretty much. I’ve never seen him.”

Looking to predict NFL playoff Scenarios? Try our NFL Playoff Predictor for real-time simulations and stay ahead of the game!

Jim Schwartz’s only head coaching job in the NFL was with the Detroit Lions from 2009 to 2013. He’s since then taken an assistant role with the Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles and Tennessee Titans before landing with the Browns. He was the NFL Assistant Coach of the Year in 2023.

Analyst highlights the pros of hiring Jim Schwartz

While it remains unknown what decision the Browns will make regarding Jim Schwartz in the coaching search, he’s obviously an in-house option that can offer quite a lot. Sports Illustrated Anthony Miller highlights the pros of hiring him as a replacement for Kevin Stefanski.

“He’s been a head coach before, so there wouldn’t be any issues with learning how to do the job,” Miller said. “Schwartz took the Detroit Lions to the playoffs once as their head coach back in 2011, so he can take all the good he did as a head coach and fix the parts that didn’t go well in Detroit.

“No major changes are needed with the coaching staff, since everyone has already worked together. Schwartz could keep his entire defensive staff and promote one guy to defensive coordinator while he maintains the play-calling, while trying to convince Tommy Rees to stay on as offensive coordinator.”

Aside from Jim Schwartz, the Browns are scheduled to meet five other candidates for the second interview. These include Jacksonville Jaguars OC Grant Udinski, Los Angeles Chargers DC Jesse Minter and Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase. Others are former Baltimore Ravens OC Todd Monken and former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel.