Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is in demand, as the Cleveland Browns have requested to interview him for their head coaching opening, according to a report from Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
Schwartz is an accomplished defensive coordinator with an outstanding history of results when he has just focused on the defense. His DVOA rankings, since 2007:
| Year | DVOA rank |
| 2007 (Titans) | 1 |
| 2008 (Titans) | 5 |
| 2014 (Bills) | 2 |
| 2016 (Eagles) | 4 |
| 2017 (Eagles) | 5 |
| 2018 (Eagles) | 15 |
| 2019 (Eagles) | 12 |
Understandably, the Eagles' defense wasn't elite when their secondary had become so depleted in 2018 that Schwartz was forced to start guys like DeVante Bausby and Chandon Sullivan, and then again in 2019 when, at times, he was once again missing a slew of starters, and conducting a defense with its share of holes, talent-wise.
To finish in the top half of the league in DVOA the last two seasons despite the Eagles' injury issues is no small feat.
Schwartz isn't perfect. I believe there are reasonable quibbles with some of his defensive philosophies. But ultimately, his results speak for themselves, and he has done a good job in Philadelphia in the four years he has been here.
If Schwartz does indeed interview with the Browns and they hire him, the Eagles' defensive coordinator job will be an attractive one, as Doug Pederson has let Schwartz run that side of the ball with near autonomy.
UPDATE [11:35 a.m.] — Schwartz will reportedly interview for the Browns head coaching job on Wednesday, a day after the Giants and Panthers reportedly made coaching hires of their own, leaving Cleveland as the lone vacancy among NFL teams.
MORE: Miles Sanders’ new injury, Malcolm Jenkins’ ultimatum, and other Eagles season-ending takeaways | Ranking the Eagles' 2020 offseason needs from most glaring to most stable
Follow Jimmy & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @JimmyKempski | @thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
Add Jimmy's RSS feed to your feed reader