The Cleveland Browns started by casting a wide net in their search for a replacement for coach Kevin Stefanski. But repeatedly now, the team has watched candidate wriggle out of that net and take jobs elsewhere. First it was Mike McDaniel, who opted to become the Chargers‘ offensive coordinator rather than remain in the running for the Browns job. Now, it’s Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, who pulled out of his Browns interview on Thursday morning.
By Thursday evening, Minter was hired as the replacement for John Harbaugh in Baltimore, moving him into the AFC North.
The Browns thought they’d be having six second-round interviews for the job. Now they’re down to four, with defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and ex-Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken having had second interviews, and Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski scheduled for an interview on Friday.
The Browns are also planning on interviewing Rams assistant Nate Scheelhaase, but won’t be able to talk with him until after Sunday’s NFC Championship Game.
Browns Job Proving Undesirable
One of the few comforts the Browns can take from the decidedly frustrating last few days on the coaching carousel is that, at least, most consider the Arizona Cardinals job to be slightly worse than that of the Browns, who have no established NFL quarterback on hand, as well as no offensive line (they’re just about all headed to free agency) and barely a semblance of a receiver room.
Yahoo Sports rated the Browns job just ahead of Arizona’s at No. 4 out of five open jobs. The Athletic had all 10 jobs that opened this winter ranked, and the Browns came in eighth. CBS Sports called the Browns one of the “losers” of the coaching carousel to this point, pointing out that, “more jobs keep opening and pushing this one further down the pecking order.”
Indeed, it would seem that Minter and McDaniel agree. Harbaugh could be added to that mix, since Cleveland was interested in him but he took the job with the Giants before even acknowledging the Browns’ existence. And there’s still Rams assistant Chris Shula, who was requested for an interview but never even met with the Browns via video link.
GettyJimmy Haslam, co-owner of the Cleveland Browns, speaks with defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.
Jesse Minter, Mike McDaniel Only a Symptom for Cleveland
The Browns are moving forward though there is an air of disarray about this process, which is natural when one-third of the candidates pull out before in-person interviews. Making matters worse is that one of the candidates, McDaniel, represented one of the two minority candidates who were expected to talk about the job. The Browns need to have two in-person interviews with minority candidates to comply with the NFL’s Rooney Rule, and only Scheelhaase qualifies.
There has been only one violation of the rule in league history, and that came in 2003, when the Lions were fined $200,000 after hiring Steve Mariucci. The league has the leeway to dock draft picks for violators, but has never done so.
Perhaps the Browns will widen their search here as we approach late January, and there will be other minority candidates considered. Or perhaps the Browns will end the difficulty of this process and just hire Schwartz, and pay a fine to the league. Either way, the offseason is not off to a great start in Cleveland.
More Bad News for Browns as Another Coaching Candidate Takes AFC Job