As Cleveland Browns prepare for an offseason littered with questions and potentially big changes, star defensive end Myles Garrett made his expectations for the organization very clear
With mounting questions over Kevin Stefanski's future with the Cleveland Browns, Myles Garrett made his desires for the future very clear.
Regardless of who is coaching the team, winning is his top priority.
"I’m committed to winning, and long as the team organization are doing so and they’re committed to that same thing, then I’m all on board," Garret said Friday. "But if we’re thinking anything other than winning – tanking or rebuilding, that’s not me.”
It's the same dilemma the Browns faced this time last year after a 3-14 season. Entering Week 18, Cleveland has one more win than a season ago, signaling some slight improvement.
Back-to-back losing seasons have Stefanski squarely on the hot seat. While some members of the team have come to Stefanski's defense, Garrett kept things more political.
“I don’t know what the future holds, but it’s with him or anything else. I’m gonna look forward to playing under whoever it is," Garrett said. "You know, be happy to be here and being a Brown, regardless.”
Garrett's words tend to carry some weight.
Last offseason Garrett took the organization on quite a rollercoaster ride. On the Monday of Super Bowl week he emphatically declared he was requesting a trade out of the organization. He proceeded to jump in any radio show he could to explain why he wanted out, with the main point of emphasis being winning.
In the end, the sideshow led to Garrett getting a new contract, which at the time made him the highest-paid non-QB in football.
With his future now tied to the Browns long-term, Garrett's approach to big picture decisions that face the franchise seems much different this time around.
Last year, he was adamant he wanted to be involved in conversations with team brass regarding the future. This year, not so much.
"I play football," he stated.
Whatever the plans were last year, Garrett gave the perception he knew what they were. And while he admitted that things didn't necessarily pan out totally as he expected, his attention is solely on what's next.
“Can’t hold too much against them – not like they can see the future, but got to worry about next year," he said.
What's next could very well be a coaching change, although nothing is official just yet. Should the Browns decide to move on from Stefanski, they could look internally for his replacement, potentially promoting defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. That's an idea that has gained steam recently, with Schwartz telling Cleveland.com he would be open to being a head coach again.
Garrett would be open to playing for Schwartz, who has helped turn the Browns' defense into one of the best in football, in that capacity.
"I like Jim," he said. "I like the coaches that we have. So I don’t know what’s going to be in the future. Would I like to play under Jim? Would I like to keep the team and for us to improve? Absolutely. But these are things that are handled by people who sign my checks so they make bigger decisions than I can account for."
He's leaving it up to the powers that be, but the 2023 Defensive Play of the Year can picture what a Schwartz run team would look like. As far as winning is concerned, though, that's not up to the coach.
"I don’t know what it would be like. I know it would be regimented and probably very efficient," Garrett said. "That’s how he runs it on defense, so I think those two things will hold true. But how it would come out to results on the field, that’s always determined by us. And sometimes things we can’t control, like injuries."