Did you like what you saw from the Browns defense the last three seasons?

I didn’t, either.

While it was proven once again in Super Bowl 57 that great teams are driven by great offenses, there is still a need for competent defenses. While they can’t completely stop opposing offenses, they must be able to make enough plays to at least slow them down from time to time.

The path to that begins with improving the defensive coaching staff, which commended with the hiring of Jim Schwartz as coordinator. Now he is sifting through the assistants, getting rid of the ones who don’t measure up to what he wants. None of those assistants are safe, nor should they be. The only thing the defense stopped the last three years was the team from winning. It was awful.

The defense has to be better in 2023. It couldn’t be much worse, right?

But for the Browns to get to where they want to go, the defense has to be a whole heckuva lot better. And that’s on Schwartz to get it done.

Once he gets his staff in place, then begins the most interesting part, and that is to make the needed changes with the players, especially on the defensive line, which this past season was the worst in Browns history. That’s where Schwartz will do his most important work.

Steve King

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