CLEVELAND, Ohio — Five-time Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward isn’t read to ponder the Browns future without Jim Schwartz as defensive coordinator.
In fact, Ward, who’s in San Francisco participating in the Pro Bowl games, told cleveland.com on Sunday that he didn’t know that Schwartz packed up his office and left Browns headquarters on Wednesday after being passed over for the head coaching job in favor or Todd Monken, telling some staffers that he wasn’t coming back, according to NFL Network.
“I’m not sure what was true or was not true, so I’m not going to speculate,” Ward told cleveland.com in a phone interview. “I’m just going to wait to see how everything plays out and look forward to, hopefully we’re still keeping him. I’ve got a lot of respect for Coach Schwartz, and he’s an amazing coach, and I’m hoping he stays on the team.”
Ward, who’s fifth Pro Bowl this year set a team record for a cornerback, was one of a number of premier defensive players including Myles Garrett and Grant Delpit who strongly endorsed Schwartz for the head coach job. Schwartz, who’s under contract for two more years, was one of three finalists for the job, and came close to getting it. The others were Monken and Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase.
In the end, the Browns opted for the coach with the best plan for transforming their stagnant offense, one that’s finished last and second-last in scoring over the past two seasons.
But now, their premier defense, which has finished first in a number of key categories over the past three seasons under Schwartz, is without its coordinator, and it remains to be seen if he’ll come back. Garrett, who opted not to participate in the Pro Bowl games, has already seemingly expressed his displeasure over the Schwartz departure, posting a meme of a fast food employee hanging their head.
In the meantime, Monken is keeping the defensive staff intact, and the Browns are hoping that Schwartz, who’s under contract for two more years, will return.
“I’m hoping coach Schwartz stays,” Ward said. “That’s what I’m hoping. That’s who I want to stay. I want coach Schwartz to be my defensive coordinator, and if we can make that happen, I’ll be happy.”
Ward said he hasn’t talked to Schwartz or reached out to him yet.
“I don’t think that’s my place right now,” he said. “I would really just wait and see how everything plays out.”
In the interim, he’s excited about Monken, the Browns offensive coordinator in 2019 and Ravens’ offensive boss the past three seasons, where he presided over one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL.
“I haven’t gotten a chance to meet him yet, but definitely excited about the new head coach,” Ward said. “I’ve heard a lot of great things about him and just his development of offensive players. That’s definitely where we needed a big push this past season was the offense, so I’m hoping and looking forward to seeing how he develops those guys on the offensive side of the ball, and looking forward to our offense putting a lot of points on the board.”
Ward knows how Lamar Jackson elevated his game under Monken, including his second NFL MVP award in 2023, and the NFL’s No. 1 QB rating of 119.6 in 2024, when he threw 41 touchdown passes and only four interceptions. During Monken’s time with the Ravens from 2023-25, running back Derrick Henry led all NFL players with 4,683 rushing yards and 44 rushing touchdowns.
“It definitely says a lot, (with Jackson) and Derrick Henry, just what he was able to do with those guys and improve their game,” Ward said. “They had some great stats and improvements under him, so I’m looking forward to seeing him do that with the Browns.”
Ideally, he’d love to see Schwartz and Monken here together, working their magic on both sides of the ball.
“That would be exciting,” Ward said. “I feel that definitely on the offensive side, I think we just need a bit of assertiveness and just holding the offense accountable and stuff like that. I feel coach Schwartz does that for us, for the defense, holds us all accountable, and just holds us to a high standard, and doesn’t let us fall off from that.
“And if (Monken) can do that for them, and if we can return and be the No. 1 defense again, and he could get the offense up to a top 10 offense, we’re going to have a great season and it’s going to be looking good for us.”
Like last year, Ward feels the Browns can win in 2026 with some quality quarterback play.
“The way the NFL is, if you’ve got a great quarterback, you’ll go far in this league and play for the Super Bowl, and you can make up for a lot of things. But I think we’ve got good, core talent on our team, and we’re going to add some more guys in the draft. I think we’re right there. We’re close.”
Ward was also happy that his teammate Shedeur Sanders was added to the Pro Bowl as a replacement for Super Bowl-bound quarterback Drake Maye. With Garrett, voted as a starter to his seventh Pro Bowl, not participating in the games Tuesday night, Ward and Sanders are the only two Browns in hand.
“That’s exciting for him, and great opportunity for him to get the exposure,” Ward said.
He’s also eager for Garrett and rookie linebacker Carson Schwesinger to discover on Thursday night at the NFL Honors show if they’ve won AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year and Defensive Rookie of the Year honors, respectively. Both are favorites to win.
“Definitely exciting,” Ward said. “Both of those guys are deserving. They both showed out this year and did what they’re supposed to do and put the numbers up. With Carson, I don’t think any other rookie played better than him. He came in like a vet. And obviously, Myles is breaking records and is most deserving of it.”
And in a perfect world, they’ll have the defensive coordinator who helped them achieve such heights back with them this season.
Football Insider newsletter free trial: Take a minute and sign up for a free trial of our Football Insider newsletter, featuring exclusive content from cleveland.com’s Browns reporters.
