Cleveland Browns' Jim Schwartz has interesting response on head coach vacancies

Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz could be entering the final game of his tenure with the team, with the head coaching carousel turning in early January.

Schwartz, 59, could be a candidate for any head coaching jobs coming up because he has led the No. 2 defense in the league in Cleveland. While Schwartz could be a good candidate for vacancies with the New York Giants or Tennessee Titans, he is solely focused on the team's Week 18 finale against the Cincinnati Bengals.

“Yeah, I’ve answered that question a lot of times, and I just want to keep focus on the Cincinnati Bengals. Like, we need to finish with a win. We felt good about last week and coming out with a win against a division opponent. Not just a division opponent, but a team that was sort of a quasi-playoff game because if they won, they were in," Schwartz wrote.

"And we didn’t want those guys putting hats and T-shirts on in our stadium. I know our fans didn’t want to see that. We certainly recognize and respect the history of the Steelers and the Cleveland Browns. So, we took a lot of pride in that, and we’ll take a lot of pride in this game and we’ll keep it focused. We’ll keep it focused on that.”

Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz looks to the scoreboard | Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK

Schwartz focued on Bengals, not future

Whether Schwartz is playing dumb or not, he is answering the question exactly how he should. Even though the Browns have been eliminated from the playoff contention, showing that you are not paying attention to the noise is exactly what the Browns and other teams should want from him.

Schwartz was the defensive coordinator for the Titans from 2001-08 before becoming the head coach of the Detroit Lions from 2009 to 2013.

Schwartz finished 29-51 in four seasons with the Lions but made it to the playoffs in 2011, losing to the New Orleans Saints.

Since leaving the Lions, Schwartz has gone to the Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles, Titans, and Browns as a defensive coordinator or senior defensive assistant. Schwartz is still a big part of what the Browns do, so he is going to give a 100% focus for the game. That's what he feels the team and his players deserve.

Schwartz and the Browns are back in action in Week 18 against the Bengals on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET inside Paycor Stadium.