Browns Reportedly Down To Three Finalists For DC Job

February 15, 2026

According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, the Browns are down to three finalists for their defensive coordinator job including Texans passing game coordinator Cory Undlin, Browns linebackers coach Jason Tarver, and Falcons passing game coordinator Mike Rutenberg.

Cabot mentions that both Undlin and Tarver have prior NFL coordinator experience, which could give them an advantage for the position.

Undlin, 54, began his coaching career as the linebackers coach at California Lutheran. He took his first NFL coaching job in 2004 a defensive coaching assistant for the Patriots.

From there, Undlin worked for the Browns, Jaguars and Broncos before the Eagles hired him as their DBs coach in 2015. The Lions hired him as their defensive coordinator for the 2020 season, but he was let go after one year and spent two years in San Francisco as a pass game specialist/secondary coach.

Houston hired Undlin in 2023 as their defensive pass game coordinator and he’s remained in that role since.

In 2020, the Lions defense ranked No. 32 in yards allowed, No. 32 in points allowed, No. 28 in rushing yards and No. 30 in passing yards.

Tarver, 51, began his NFL coaching career with the 49ers as an offensive quality control assistant before being promoted a few times over the course of 10 years in San Francisco. He elected to depart for the defensive coordinator position at Stanford in 2011, but was later hired by the Raiders to run their defense a year later.

Tarver was hired by the 49ers as their linebackers coach in 2015 through 2017 and was hired by Vanderbilt as their defensive coordinator and linebackers’ coach.

The Browns hired Tarver as their new linebackers’ coach for the 2020 season.

Rutenberg, 44, got his start in coaching as an intern with Washington in 2013, then moved to the college game for several years. He returned to the NFL as an assistant DB coach with the Jaguars in 2013 and held multiple roles in Jacksonville until 2019.

The 49ers hired him as a passing game specialist in 2020 before he joined the Jets as their LB coach in 2021. He took a defensive pass game coordinator role with the Falcons in 2025.