Jim Schwartz's time with the Cleveland Browns is officially over, after the 59-year-old defensive coordinator submitted his letter of resignation on Friday. 

It was a predictable outcome to the week-long standoff with the team that was triggered by the team selecting Todd Monken as its next head coach over Schwartz. Monken made it clear at his introductory press conference this week that he accepted the job because of the players on the roster, not because of Schwartz. 

Still, there had been some modicum of hope that Cleveland's brass could convince Schwartz to stay since he's still under contract with the franchise. A middle ground apparently couldn't be reached, though. 

Now Monken will have to find a worthy replacement for Schwartz, who turned the Browns defense into one of the best units in football over the last three seasons. While Schwartz's impact shouldn't be minimized, there are several options out there that could make sense for Monken to keep things relatively status quo. 

Here are four names to keep an eye on: 

It feels highly likely that Monken could decide to promote from within when it comes to filling Schwartz's seat on the coaching staff and if he does, Banda is at or near the top of the list of options. 

He's been the safeties coach here in Cleveland over the last three years under Schwartz, in what is his first coaching gig at the NFL level. However, before joining the Browns' staff, he was a defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Utah State from 2021-2022. He also held roles at Miami (FL), Mississippi State, Texas and Incarnate Word. 

Banda is credited with helping Grant Delpit become a mainstay in the Browns secondary over these last couple of years, and turning Ronnie Hickman into a starter. Monken will have to decide if he thinks Banda is ready for more. 

Tarver represents yet another internal option for Monken to consider for promotion for the defensive coordinator role. He also comes with previous experience as an NFL DC. 

The 51-year-old served as the defensive coordinator for the Raiders from 2012-2014. Before becoming Cleveland's linebacker coach, Tarver also spent two seasons as the DC and linebackers coach at Vanderbilt. 

The last couple of seasons have been fruitful for Tarver's linebacker group with the emergence of Jaremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who missed the 2025 campaign due to a serious neck injury, and rookie Carson Schwesinger, who just won the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award on Thursday. 

Monken could certainly decide to tap into Tarver's previous experience and name him DC. 

My gut tells me Monken will look internally and promote someone already on staff to fill Schwartz's seat, but if he does look externally, Undlin may be the top viable option. Undlin is currently serving as the Houston Texans defensive passing game coordinator, under defensive coordinator Matt Burke, who is a Schwartz disciple of courts. 

While Burke first worked with Schwartz in Tennessee, before the latter got the Detroit Lions head coaching job from 2009-2013, Undlin came into the picture later on, serving as a defensive backs coach under Schwartz for four seasons between 2016-2019. 

Ironically, he also has some familiarity with the Browns, worked in several different roles for the franchise between 2005-2008. The last role he held before leaving Cleveland was as a defensive backs coach.

Undlin may just have enough familiarity with the franchise and Schwartz system to be a good fit for DC. He also crossed paths with Monken briefly in Jacksonville in 2009, where he was a defensive assistant. 

Walton is another Schwartz disciple, having worked directly for Super Bowl-winning coordinator as a defensive backs coach during his tenure with the Lions from 2009-2012. DBs continue to be a specialty of his, even in his current role as Ohio State's co-defensive coordinator/secondary/cornerbacks coach. 

He's obviously plenty familiar with the system Schwartz runs, though, and could slide right into the role he vacated. The biggest question mark will be how committed he is to what's considered a pretty nice job with the Buckeyes. Would he be willing to make the jump back to the NFL where he hasn't coached since 2021?