New Cleveland Browns HC Todd Monken reveals why Mike Rutenberg was the right fit for Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator role
Mike Rutenberg has some pretty sizeable shoes to fill as he comes to Cleveland to take over as the Browns' new defensive coordinator.
Over the last three years, former DC Jim Schwartz has helped build the Browns' defense into one of the best in football. Rutenberg hopes to pick up where he left off and add some new wrinkles to the unit.
That's at the heart of why new Browns head coach Todd Monken chose Rutenberg for the job, despite the fact that he doesn't have any previous experience as an NFL defensive coordinator.
"He'd been in a similar system, but not the exact system because Jim (Schwartz) was unique," Monken said in a statement from the team announcing all three of the team's coordinator hires. "And they can say attacking style, but then there's attacking style, which is what they've done here up front.
"And I think that background of being a four-down attacking style, but not exact, (and) to add some things that they had done before that I thought would mesh really well with the current staff, was a big part of that. And I thought his energy, his ability to teach, his juice, I mean, it popped. It was what I was looking for."
Rutenberg's infectiously passionate personality has been well-documented since he was reported as the Browns hire.
It also appears his defensive knowledge across all three levels, and his familiarity with the base principles that made Cleveland's defense so successful under Schwartz, were on full display throughout the interview process.
For years, Rutenberg has worked under newly named Tennessee Titans head coach Robert Saleh, learning the nuances of his similar 4-3 defense with an aggressive rush. Rutenberg first served as an understudy to Saleh in Jacksonville, while the latter was a linebacker coach.
He then joined him in San Francisco in 2020 to be a pass game coordinator while Saleh served as DC for the 49ers. One year later, he followed him to New York when Saleh took his first head coaching opportunity with the Jets from 2021-2024.
Some of the biggest differences in Rutenberg's system are expected to come on the back end, where he'll likely mix in some different zone looks than Schwartz has to complement the man-heavy coverage Cleveland's defense thrives in most prominently.
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