The Cleveland Browns' defense is coming off a historic season. However, losing the coach who made it happen has a Defensive Rookie of the Year winner speaking out.

Carson Schwesinger had one of the best rookie seasons in 2025. While Schwesinger has yet to meet his new head coach, Todd Monken, he's cautiously optimistic.

"I look forward to getting to talk to him and everything, I figure you know, he's probably got a lot of stuff going on that he's got to figure out," said Schwesinger.

"I'll meet him when you know when the time's right, and then you know I'm excited to get to work, and you know continue building on the year we had last year, and you know as a defense, and just keep that going," the Browns star added.

Jim Schwartz recently refused to return as the Browns' defensive coordinator. And that too because he felt looked over by the Cleveland Browns for the head coaching job and gave it to Todd Monken. But that does not seem to affect Schwesinger.

"Yeah, I've heard all good things about him and you know, like I said I'm excited to get down there and start up," he said. Monken is a good coach. As the offensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens, he helped Lamar Jackson get the MVP.

He led the Ravens to become the first in NFL history with 4,000 passing and 3,000 rushing yards in the same season. And there is no lack of experience here, as he has coached for 37 seasons across both the college and NFL levels. But how would he help the defense is a big question.

Todd Monken Has Made Thoughts Clear on the Browns’ Defense

In 2025, the Browns' defense was one of the strongest units in the NFL. Under Jim Schwartz, the defense finished with a franchise-record 53 sacks, led by Myles Garrett’s 23-sack season. Carson SchwesingerLed all rookies in total tackles (146).

Monken has made it clear that he doesn’t plan to overhaul that defensive system.

"I’m not planning on changing the system. We’re built for the system that they’re in currently. I’m not going to get into staffing, because that’s not at this time to get into that. But they can be rest assured that we’re going to keep the same system," Todd Monken revealed.

"We’re still going to let them attack. We’re still going to let them play free. I can’t see any other way. They’re a big reason why I took this job — the defensive players," the coach added.

But this was before Jim Schwartz left the team. Now the Cleveland Browns’ new defensive coordinator for the 2026 season is Mike Rutenberg.

How do you think things will change now? Let us know in the comments, and follow the Cleveland Browns Community for more.

Written by

Reyansh Dubey

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi