They say time is a flat circle, and that often appears true when it comes to NFL coaching searches. As we watch recently deposed Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski make the rounds for interviews to ascend back to that same head-coaching role with other teams around the league, it becomes increasingly possible that Cleveland will do something very, very funny this offseason–they could basically swap one team’s disappointment for their own.
Already, we have seen the Browns show interest in Ravens coach John Harbaugh, the former Super Bowl champ who was fired last week. And we’ve seen the Ravens show interest in Stefanski, who interviewed for Baltimore’s open job as Harbaugh’s replacement. Most Browns fans would accept a Stefanski-for-Harbaugh trade.
On Monday, the Browns interviewed ex-Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel to replace Stefanski. And on Tuesday, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero wrote on Twitter/X: “Former Browns coach Kevin Stefanski is interviewing in person for the Dolphins’ head coaching job today, per me and @RapSheet. Stefanski, the two-time NFL Coach of the Year, previously interviewed with the Titans, Giants, Falcons and Ravens.”
Kevin Stefanski Still Well-Liked in NFL
That’s a long list for a guy whom the bulk of Browns fans wanted to drum out of town for just about the entirety of the season. But it brings home the point that while fans in Cleveland won’t forgive Stefanski for foisting Dillon Gabriel on them for about a half-season, he still has a good reputation around the NFL, and those two Coach of the Year trophies do mean something in other locations.
And general manager Andrew Berry did point out, in announcing the firing of Stefanski, that he is a well-liked guy around the NFL, and in the Browns headquarters.
“There really isn’t a better person. He’s the best of us,” Berry said. “We all owe him a debt of gratitude and appreciation for a level of success that he brought the organization that really hadn’t been achieved since 2002 and that’s something that we’ll always remember.
“Coming into this season, we were realistic that we were a team and a roster in transition. And ultimately this decision is born from the fact that we ultimately felt like we did not see enough progress in areas that were controllable – independent of certain game outcomes.”
GettyMike McDaniel, formerly of of the Miami Dolphins, interviewed for the Cleveland Browns job.
Browns’ Collection of Candidates Skews Toward Offense
As for the Browns’ coaching search, it remains an odd mish-mash of retreads like Harbaugh and McDaniel, in-house candidates Jim Schwartz and Tommy Rees, veteran offensive coordinator Todd Monken, and interesting young relative unknowns like the Seahawks‘ Arden Durde, the Bengals’ Dan Pitcher, the Jaguars’ Grant Udinski, the Rams’ Nate Scheelhaase and the Chargers’ Jesse Minter.
It is an eclectic group of 10 candidates, and more may be looming. It is telling that, of the 10, only three have head-coaching experience (Harbaugh, McDaniel and Schwartz), and only two are defensive coordinators (Durde and Minter).
The other five are all either offensive coordinators or assistants, which might well be a good idea for a team that finished with the No. 3-ranked offense in the NFL, by a wide margin, at Pro Football Focus.
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