Three Position Coaches the Cleveland Browns Need To Keep No Matter What

The Browns have already lost their head coach and offensive coordinator so far this offseason, and when a new coach comes in, he’s likely to bring his own staff.

However, the Browns don’t need their coaching staff to be built up from scratch. There are a handful of coaches that led their position groups to plenty of success during the 2025 season.

Here are three positional coaches the Cleveland Browns need to keep on the team next season.

1. Jacques Cesaire – Defensive Line

Simply put, Myles Garrett put together arguably the most dominant season a defensive lineman has ever had under Cesaire’s leadership. Garrett had a record-breaking 23 sacks, and was a consistent force in the run game too.

As good of a player as Garrett is, that doesn’t just happen. Cesaire and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz had to scheme concepts and stunts that put Garrett in the best possible situations to make that happen.

On top of that, Cesaire helped rookie Mason Graham put together a solid rookie campaign. Graham had 49 tackles, and required constant attention from an offensive line that created gaps for his teammates to make tackles.

Maliek Collins had one of the best seasons of his career at 30 years old. He had 6.5 sacks and 25 tackles, being a constant force for teams to divert attention off Garrett.

Players like Alex Wright, Isaiah McGuire, Adin Huntington, Mike Hall, and Shelby Harris all had solid seasons too. In two years with the Browns, Cesaire’s impact has been noticeable. Cleveland needs him to keep leading and developing one of the best lines in the league.

2. Christian Jones – Tight Ends

In his first year with the Browns, Jones made sure the tight ends were often able to outperform the wide receivers.

Rookie Harold Fannin Jr. put together one of the most impressive first years the league has ever seen from a tight end. He finished with 72 catches for 731 yards and six touchdowns, all of which led the team.

Teams were scared to draft Fannin because of his lack of college success as a run blocker, and a running form that some consider odd. Jones wasn’t scared to work with him, quickly making him the star of Cleveland’s passing game, and a blocker who got better every week.

David Njoku only managed to play in 12 games this year, but was often the second best target on the field when healthy. He caught 33 passes for 293 yards and four touchdowns.

Jones did a great job with backups Blake Whiteheart and Brenden Bates as well, turning them into key blockers in the Browns run game. It’s rare to have four tight ends on the field consistently, but that was the case with Jones' squad.

Hopefully next season the wide receivers will create a better balance to the passing game, but Jones made sure his guys were well prepared for the challenge.

3. Jason Tarver – Linebackers

Coming into the season, the Browns had a huge question mark at the linebacker position. The team was going to be without Tarver’s star, who he helped develop, in Jeremiah Owusu-Kormoah.

Instead, Tarver led a new rookie to a potential Defensive Rookie of the Year campaign. Carson Schwesinger had 156 tackles, 2.5 sacks and two interceptions this year. Tarver had turned two Cleveland drafted players into stars. That alone is worth keeping him for as long as possible.

He also helped Devin Bush break out for the best season of his career. Bush had 125 tackles, two sacks and three interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns.

Cleveland’s defense took a massive leap forward this year. If Owusu-Kormoah makes a comeback, this could be the best unit in the league and Tarver deserves a good chunk of the credit.