Important Takeaways from Jim Schwartz Introductory Press Conference
Jim Schwartz likely set the record for the length of a press conference for an assistant coach in Cleveland Browns history, discussing a range of topics including buying a pre-owned couch, a turkey sandwich and his thyroid all before getting into the team he's about to coach.
Along with three chapters in a future memoir, Schwartz discussed a number of elements of coaching including what's important to him and what he brings to the team.
Some of his quotes may be highlighted, but don't seem terribly important in full context. Meanwhile, there are some really important elements he discusses that warranted extra attention.
Answering a question about what he looks for in assistant coaches, the first thing Schwartz said sounds concerning. It sounded as if Schwartz would be handcuffed in his role here, having less freedom than previous defensive coordinator Joe Woods despite possessing more credibility.
What he goes on to say illuminates how unimportant this is.
"Over the years, I've had jobs like when I got hired in Philadelphia as defensive coordinator, I was the last guy hired and I had never worked with any of the coaches before. We got up to speed pretty quickly and flipped that defense pretty quickly and won the Super Bowl the next year. Buffalo was similar.
I've also had where I've had a lot of input and so I've done it a lot of different ways, but you know when it's all said and done, that's Kevin's job along with Andrew (Berry), along with the Haslams. They're the people who are making the staffing decisions. Not me."
This is a whole lot of nothing save for deference to the head coach. Schwartz wasn't the last coach hired on defense. He was the first one hired. Kevin Stefanski is a head coach who empowers his assistants to do their job. It stands to reason that Schwartz is going to have significant input into those decisions even if he's not technically the one who's making the hiring, which is about the only distinction he's making.
Here's the far more important part of what Schwartz said in the same answer.
"My job, I would say this. There is a player component to coaching players. I think I'm pretty good at coaching coaches into being what they're being asked to do and how it fits in with what we're going to do. I think I've developed that over the years, because I wasn't always good at it. I was pretty crappy at it early, but as you do it for a while, you get good at that and being able to coach the coaches into what we do and maybe it's a little different than they've done before. I can bring that to equation. I'd let Kevin answer those other questions."
This is the element that never was brought up when it came to Joe Woods. He wasn't great at coaching his coaches. They didn't develop. Jason Tarver, the linebackers coach did an excellent job the past two seasons. And the answers Schwartz provided might open the door for him to remain on staff, especially when he refers to the player component. The linebackers respond to Tarver and they've gotten quality play at that position despite a litany of injuries.
The coaches that needed to get better on that side of the ball didn't. Too often they were wildly inconsistent. Being able to coach coaches is critical in the success of a coach. One coach cannot do everything, despite how many critics keep suggesting that's what Stefanski should be doing. Don't call plays. Get involved with defense more. Manage the game as a CEO. Stefanski cannot do everything most of these issues aren't getting fixed during the game anyway. The cake is already baked at that point.
To Stefanski's credit, he not only hired excellent assistants on the offensive side of the ball, but he's been effective coaching his coaches. No, offensive line coach Bill Callahan probably didn't need a whole lot of coaching, but even as the staff has changed with coaches taking on new roles on offense, they've remained effective. That would suggest that Stefanski is picking good people, but it's evidence that he's coaching his coaches as well.
Drew Petzing went from tight ends to quarterbacks this season. T.C. McCartney became the new tight ends coach. That went pretty smoothly. It's a huge element of coaching and if Schwartz can deliver, it will result in a dramatic improvement in the overall performance.
Schwartz addressed accountability on defense, something the Browns lacked, but has wildly different definitions depending on who is asked. It was interesting that the first part of Schwartz's answer dismissed complaints from both fans and media regarding this coaching staff, especially Kevin Stefanski.
"I think that all starts with trust. And I've said this over the years. Players don't really care if you're young, old, if you're black, white, if you're loud, if you're quiet. If you can help them, they'll listen.
And if they know you're coming from an honest spot, telling them the truth, they may not like what you say, but they'll take it because they know it's coming from a performance base and it's coming from the truth, so establishing trust is job one."
It's not a performance. It's not a movie role. Coaching is teaching and great teachers don't need to be loud or emotional to be effective. If being emotional is true to who they are, great, but it's not a requirement to be an effective coach It's not about fans and media either having someone act a certain way to cater to their respective wants or demands in a given moment. It's about the players and what's going to work for them.
"The secret sauce is getting guys playing together and that accountability that goes into it. I would say this. If I'm doing a good job, we'll hold our best players the most accountable. And if you start from that position, then everything else is gravy."
Given the issues the Browns have had on defense the past two seasons, these quotes will be a big hit. But while most people will think of this in terms of punishment, which is a piece of it, it's more about getting the best players to set the tone for everyone else in terms of their work ethic and preparation, taking care of the little things. It's challenging them to be their best, so that it eliminates excuses.
If a player joins the team and enters the facility, it shouldn't take long before they understand how this team operates, the inherent expectations. The challenge for the Browns is to make that a more professional operation on the defensive side of the ball.
Along the same lines, Schwartz was asked about his own evolution.
"You do change with times. You find new ways to communicate. You learn from your mistakes."
"Sometimes it's easier to learn from mistakes. But you also have to go with your fastball. You got a good fastball. Well, trust it. Bust them on the knuckles and make them hit 99. Don't speed the bat up by throwing too many change-ups and part of it is being who you are and having the confidence to be who you are and I think I've done that over the years."
"If you're consistent, I think from a player to being a coach is a little bit like being a parent. You have to be consistent. If you establish rules, you have to enforce them. Kids take a lot of their cues from that and I think players do too. I've become less reactionary over the years. I'm pretty good at keeping my eye on that point on the horizon and just keeping the boat just right on that point."
This is probably not what people who were hoping for a fiery, butt-kicking defensive coordinator on staff were hoping to hear. Schwartz has been around long enough to understand his focus needs to be on the bigger picture. However, he did add, "I can still get after it, but maybe in a different way I have in the past."
The most important part of this press conference as it pertained to the product on the field had to do with the pass rush, an area where the Browns flat out stunk save for Myles Garrett. Not surprisingly, the defense struggled.
"I know this. Over the course of my career I've talked to a lot of offensive coaches. I've talked to a lot of quarterbacks over the years. The way you effect the game the most in this league is by pass rush.
It's hard to win in coverage. The rules have changed. They make it hard to put hands on guys. Illegal contacts. ICTDH. DPI, all those things. It's hard and these wide receivers are freak shows, but you can still win one on one with pass rush and a devastating pass rush goes a long way. You can create turnovers off a pass rush.
If you can rush with four, it allows your blitz game to be so much more effective because you start blitzing on your terms as opposed to the offense's terms. You don't have to blitz just to get pressure. You can blitz based on the situation, based on the personnel as opposed to being forced to blitz to get pressure."
There's a lot to like here. First, the obvious. Quarterbacks don't like to get hit. If you can consistently put pressure and hits on the quarterback, it's going to have an impact. They press, make mistakes and it leads to more opportunities to end drives or create turnovers.
Defensive line has been where Schwartz has had the most success. Myles Garrett should benefit immediately. It also suggests that when he was interviewed, Schwartz was assured by the team they would be making a significant upgrade to the talent up front.
The past two years illustrated just how difficult coverage can be. The Browns have talented defensive backs even if Denzel Ward had a a down 2021 campaign. If the Browns are able to generate pressure, not only is it going to allow those corners to thrive winning in coverage, but it's going to create more opportunities for them to get their hands on the ball. In that sense, it's a great setup because Schwartz doesn't have to worry about fixing that element. He just has to coach up the guys the Browns have, focusing most of his attention on the defensive line.
There is still a question as to how the Browns will proceed at free safety, a topic that was never broached. And even if they asked, it wasn't going to be answered in any meaningful way.
Blitzing is inherently risky. It can be an effective tool, but it's not a reliable way to function. Living by the sword, dying by the sword is accepting failure already. Over the course of a season, the averages can absolutely work out and get a team into the postseason. However, once in the post season, when it's win or go home, a team has to avoid major lapses through three or four games. Those are long odds.
Schwartz carried himself with an earned confidence. None of this is new to him. But given the amount of work ahead of him and the defense as a whole, we'll see if Schwartz feels this good in December.
