This is the most important coaching hire made by new Browns head coach Todd Monken.
ANSWER: I don’t know. The truth is, no one knows – not even the Browns.A: When the Browns hired Jim Schwartz as defensive coordinator in 2023, you knew he’d do a good job. He had a long record of success as a defensive coordinator with several teams.
You knew he liked to run the “Wide-9” defense with a four-man front and a very aggressive style of play. It was a major contrast to Joe Woods, the previous Browns defensive coordinator who played more of a soft-zone, “bend but don’t break” type of defense.Learn more and sign up here.A: Rutenberg has never been a defensive coordinator before. He has been in the NFL for 16 years. His last job was passing coordinator with Atlanta. He coached linebackers and defensive backs at some of his previous stops. His coaching roots go back to Robert Saleh and Gregg Williams, both ran attack-style defenses. His most recent influence is Jeff Ulbrich, Atlanta’s defensive coordinator.Q: So the Browns hired a guy with no experience as a defensive coordinator to replace one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL? A: That’s also correct. Now I’m going to tell you a story about Cavs owner Dan Gilbert. I asked him how he could hire Mike Brown as head coach in 2005 when Brown had never been a head coach in the NBA.A: I mentioned Brown’s lack of head coaching experience, and Gilbert replied, “Experience doing what? Being mediocre? Being a guy who does a solid job but that’s it?” His point was that experience is a neutral term. Schwartz’s experience was an excellent predictor of what he’d do in Cleveland.A: Joe Woods was a defensive coordinator in Denver before coming to the Browns. He struggled in Cleveland. Ray Horton had experience as a defensive coordinator before coming to the Browns. He actually was a defensive coordinator for themNot much good happened in his tenure. Woods and Horton can argue that they also didn’t have the talent the Browns had during the Schwartz era. But if you only hire people with experience in that specific job, the same people would be hired over and over. New talent would never get a chance.A: They knew this is the most important decision new head coach Todd Monken and the front office will make at least until the draft. Monken will be concentrating on building the offense, calling plays and the overall leadership duties as a head coach. The defensive coordinator will be what amounts to the head coach of the defense – just like Schwartz.A; He plans to run the same basic type of defensive as Schwartz. That’s a good starting point. But there’s more. The Browns are hoping to find someone special … the next Jim Schwartz.A: Here’s what I heard from a top NFL source about Rutenberg and what the Browns think of him: “Super high energy. He is relationship driven with players and staff. He has an intimate understanding of all three levels of the defense. He’s an excellent teacher, been in an attack front defensive system for a while, but has shown the ability to innovate off it particularly this past year in Atlanta.” Q: Can you really tell what Rutenberg will do based on Atlanta’s defense last season? He wasn’t the coordinator. A: That’s fair, and it’s why I have not looked deeply at Atlanta’s defense. Former Browns coach Kevin Stefanski now has the same job in Atlanta. He kept Jeff Ulbrich, the team’s defensive coordinator. Rutenberg worked for Ulbrich from 2021-24 when Ulbrich was the Jets’ defensive coordinator. In 2025, Ulbrich went to Atlanta and Rutenberg followed.A: I was told the Browns conducted “an open search.” They were looking for certain things, such as the type of schemes and background on how the coach related to players. I was told Rutenberg was extremely prepared for the interviews, testing and the ability to communicate his vision for the defense. I was also told, “He crushed it,” in terms of sounding like a guy ready for a new challenge at the age of 44 after 16 years in the NFL.A: He sounds fine. Bottom line, I don’t know. But I also believe in giving qualified people a chance. He appears qualified. Now we’ll see how he holds up under the pressure of replacing Schwartz. He will have to sell himself to the players. But that’s also true of Monken and other assistant coaches who have been hired.I'm grateful to my readers who have read me for decades. I'm the author of more than 30 books, a winner of the National Headliner Award as the nation's best sports columnist in 2020 and best sports writer in...
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