CLEVELAND, Ohio — Former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel has pulled out of the Browns head coach search to take the Chargers offensive coordinator job, leaving the Browns with five current finalists.
The Browns receivers coach in 2014, McDaniel was scheduled for his in-person second interview with them on Wednesday, but canceled the session, removing himself from consideration, a league source told cleveland.com.
The Browns are now down to five candidates, who were all scheduled for second interviews this week, or next Monday. Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz had the first follow-up interview on Monday; Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken was Tuesday, Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter is due in Thursday, and Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski is set for Friday. Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase can’t interview until Monday because he’s in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday vs. the Seahawks.
With McDaniels out, the Browns have only one remaining former NFL head coach on the list in Schwartz, although they’ll do their diligence on Bills coach Sean McDermott, who was fired on Monday despite eight straight playoff seasons, including two AFC Championship appearances. The Browns interviewed McDermott in their 2016 search and liked him a lot, but ownership preferred Hue Jackson.
The Browns must now also add one more minority or woman to their interview list to satisfy the Rooney Rule, which stipulates that they must interview two such candidates from outside the organization, and in person. McDaniel, who’s first interview with the Browns was virtual and therefore doesn’t count, was to be one minority candidate and Scheelhaase the other.
It means the Browns must still interview their two Rooney Rule candidates before they make their hire, and must add one more to their list.
McDaniel is also still believed to be a candidate for the Ravens and Raiders head coach vacancies, but he’s set to join Jim Harbaugh as fired coordinator Greg Roman’s replacement, barring an unforeseen circumstance.
McDaniel also interviewed with the Falcons and Titans for their head coach vacancies, but those jobs went to Kevin Stefanski and Robert Saleh, respectively. He also interviewed for offensive coordinator vacancies with the Lion, Bucs and Chargers, and had his second interview with the Chargers on Tuesday.
But the chance to work under Harbaugh and with quarterback Justin Herbert, the Chargers’ 2020 No. 6 overall pick, superseded McDaniel’s other opportunities, including the Browns’.
The Browns also have an uncertain quarterback situation that might be giving some candidates pause, with Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders currently the frontrunners to start for the Browns next season unless they draft a quarterback or acquire a veteran that starts ahead of them.
Of the Browns’ five remaining candidates, two have been generating a lot of buzz in the search in Udinski and Scheelhaase, two of the brightest young minds in the game. But the Browns also like their experienced candidates in Schwartz and Monken, both 59.
Monken, the Browns offensive coordinator in 2019 under Freddie Kitchens, has a chance to join John Harbaugh with the Giants if he doesn’t get the Browns head coach job, and Harbaugh seems poised to wait it out. Schwartz, if he doesn’t get promoted, could remain in his current role as defensive coordinator, but the Browns also really like him as their possible 19th head coach. He’s also interviewed for the Ravens head coach vacancy.
If Schwartz gets the job, he’ll likely have to hire a new offensive coordinator given that Tommy Rees is expected to join Kevin Stefanski with the Falcons.
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