The Cleveland Browns head coaching search turned toward second interviews this week, before the Buffalo Bills may have added Sean McDermott to the candidate list, with Browns owner Jimmy Haslam now having a chance to right a previous mistake. As of now, six candidates are expected to get second interviews, this time in person, with the Browns:
- Browns DC Jim Schwartz
- Ravens OC Todd Monken
- Jaguars OC Grant Udinski
- Chargers DC Jesse Minter
- Former Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel
- Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase
Scheelhaase’s interview cannot take place until January 26th, which, as of now, is when Cleveland would be in compliance with the Rooney Rule and could hire
their new head coach.
Anything can change, as we saw with McDermott, but the Browns next head coach is likely on the above list. Having a little fun, I wanted to give the superlatives/word association that came to mind for each of the current Cleveland head coach search candidates. Mind you, these are my personal beliefs and in no way are predictive of anything. Honestly, almost nothing known publicly is actually predictive of head coaching success, besides a top-flight quarterback.
On to the superlatives/word association:
- Browns DC Jim Schwartz – Stubborn, hard-nosed, acceptable but boring choice
- Ravens OC Todd Monken – Offensive version of Schwartz, risky to give first NFL HC chance to someone who is 59
- Jaguars OC Grant Udinski – Exciting, unproven, biggest upside/downside
- Chargers DC Jesse Minter – Winning experience, at 42, he’s the oldest of the young guys, Jim Harbaugh connection is both exciting and concerning
- Former Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel – Great run game schemes, improved as the year went on, quirky, probably best if he takes a year as OC under a different style head coach first
- Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase – A year or two early to the HC game, Sean McVay’s coaching tree is exciting, would he join as OC under any of the others?
In the end, we really don’t know for sure who will make a good head coach. There are so many variables behind the scenes. McDermott is a great example. Is he a good coach that just can’t get over the top, or was he carried by QB Josh Allen and the other talent they’ve had on the roster? As of now, Cleveland fans would be thrilled with the success of McDermott, but like some in Buffalo, expect more later in his coaching career.
What words or superlatives jump to mind when you look at the above names?
