The Cleveland Browns could surprise many with their next head coach.
Cleveland decided to fire Kevin Stefanski after another losing season, as the team needed to change something up.
The Browns have interviewed plenty of candidates to be their next head coach, including some in-house candidates. However, NFL insider Jordan Schultz believes the team will go off the board and could hire someone not seen as a head coaching candidate and pair him with Jim Schwartz.
“The Browns would love to keep DC Jim Schwartz with their new head coach, given all the defensive success they’ve had,” Schultz said. “Which is why most expect them to hire an offensive-minded head coach. Many around the league have viewed the Browns who could hire a head coach who might be a year away from being a legitimate candidate.
“But, in their eyes, if he’s going to be a head coach in the future, why wait? That’s why you are seeing Cleveland interview request for (Cincinnati) Bengals OC Dan Pitcher, (Jacksonville) Jaguars OC Grant Udinski and (Los Angeles) Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase. Pairing a young offense mind with Schwartz is deemed intriguing.”
If the Browns do go with an off-the-board candidate as their head coach, it would be an intriguing move. But if Schwartz stays on the staff as defensive coordinator, perhaps that would be a good tandem to help the Browns reach the playoffs again.
Browns Eyeing 30-Year-Old Candidate
Cleveland has interviewed several candidates, but one intriguing name is sticking out.
Browns insider Tony Rizzo said the team is impressed with Udinski, who served as the Jaguars’ offensive coordinator this season.
“Hearing Udinski in play for the Browns. Early stages, but interesting. He impressed,” Rizzo wrote on X.
Udinski is just 30-years-old and was a defensive end in college at Towson after one season at Davidson. The rising coaching candidate began as a graduate assistant with the Baylor Bears in 2019.
After one season at Baylor, Udinski landed a job with the Carolina Panthers for two seasons before joining the Minnesota Vikings. After working his way up the Vikings coaching staff from assistant to head coach all the way to assistant offensive coordinator and assistant quarterbacks coach, he was hired as the Jaguars’ offensive coordinator this season.
In his first season as the Jaguars’ offensive coordinator, Jacksonville averaged 27.88 points per game, which was sixth-best in the NFL. Now, at just 30-years-old, Udinski is getting serious interest from the Browns to be their next head coach.
Cleveland Not Ruling Out 1st-Time HC
After firing Stefanski, the Browns general manager, Andrew Berry, said the team would be looking at all candidates.
Berry wouldn’t rule out hiring a first-time head coach or someone with experience as they would cast a wide net.
“We’ll be pretty open-minded,” Berry said after the season on Jan. 5. “I think there are a number of different archetypes of successful head coaches. I think about Kevin, I think it’s easy to forget now that he has, you know, two Coach of the Year awards on his mantle, that when he was interviewed first in 2019 and he didn’t get the job, and then again, I guess it was 2020 and he did.
“In both of those cycles, he had no head coaching experience, and we were the only team that interviewed him. And so, I think our responsibility is to search far and wide. There are good coaches out there. You know, we’ve just got to do our homework and find the right fit for us. We’ll have no preconceived notions as we go into the search.”
The Browns haven’t made the playoffs since 2023.
Browns Linked to Making Surprising Head Coaching Decision