Jim Schwartz is now officially out in Cleveland, with the Browns having announced the distinguished defensive coordinator's resignation on Thursday.
The news came a day after Myles Garrett was named the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in three seasons -- both times with Schwartz as his DC.
Days earlier, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and general manager Andrew Berry conveyed confidence that there wasn't anything to worry about in terms of Garrett's future, just an offseason removed from the defensive end requesting a trade.
"Listen, I love Myles, OK?" Haslam said Tuesday, following new head coach Todd Monken's introductory news conference, via Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot. "I haven't talked to him since the day after the season, but I'm highly confident Myles will come in here and break the sack record again and be the Defensive Player (of the Year). He hasn't been named it (yet), but I'll be shocked if he isn't and will be a leader of our team."
There was nothing shocking on Thursday night in San Francisco at NFL Honors, as Garrett took home Defensive Player of the Year by a unanimous vote. It's an unsurprising result considering the five-time All-Pro set a new NFL single-season record with 23 sacks.
It wouldn't be stunning, either, to discover Garrett was dismayed apparently that Schwartz, upset he wasn't hired as Browns head coach, will no longer be Cleveland's DC.
"We kept Myles abreast [of] the process throughout," Berry said on Tuesday of Garrett being on board with the hiring of Monken and his plan going forward. "So obviously he knew the news before you all did. So Myles is a great team player and I'm not really worried about that."
Over the three seasons with Schwartz, Garrett has been a Pro Bowler and a first-team All-Pro each year and racked up a combined 51 sacks. Already an elite pass rusher before Schwartz' arrival, Garrett is now considered one of the game's very best players regardless of position.
He's paid as such, too, sporting a contract in which he averages $40 million per season with $88 million guaranteed. Garrett garnered his latest extension last offseason after his aforementioned trade request.
Monken was clear Tuesday that with or without Schwartz, he wanted to keep the Browns' defense as is scheme-wise.
Ownership and the front office have also been clear so far that they feel no reason to believe the face of the Browns franchise is disgruntled to the point that he wants out of town -- as he did a year ago.
