Cleveland Browns: Looking at the head coaching candidates
The Cleveland Browns will begin the search for a new head coach with seven current candidates.
The Cleveland Browns are entering a new era, or so we hope.
The promotion of Sashi Brown and the hiring of Paul DePodesta as chief strategy officer shows that Jimmy Haslam is indeed serious about turning things around in Cleveland.
But Browns fans know that the one to take the fall will be the man on the sidelines. Mike Pettine was not given much to work with, but he saw his way out after just two seasons. Rob Chudzinski only lasted for one.
As of now, the Browns currently have seven interviews lined up:
- Doug Marrone: Jacksonville Jaguars assistant head coach
- Matt Patricia: New England Patriots defensive coordinator
- Adam Gase: Chicago Bears offensive coordinator
- Teryl Austin: Detroit Lions defensive coordinator
- Sean McDermott: Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator
- Hue Jackson: Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator
- Paul Guenther: Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator
Looking at this list is refreshing, but Browns fans also know that it is tough to get top candidates to Cleveland.
The top one on this list is Adam Gase, which is interesting as he is the only current offensive coordinator on the list. He is best known for his success with Peyton Manning before heading to Chicago with John Fox.
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Marrone did serve as an offensive coordinator with the New Orleans Saints from 2006-2008 before becoming the head coach at Syracuse.
According to cleveland.com, Gase and Austin will be interviewing today, while Marrone will interview on Thursday.
What these candidates have in common is that they are hot commodities across the NFL. The Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans and San Francisco 49ers are all looking for coaches.
The 49ers job may be the least desirable next to the one in Cleveland, but at least you get to live in San Francisco.
Several things are looming over this job with the Browns.
The first is the history of coaches not lasting long. Jimmy Haslam has done nothing to assure new hires that they will make it beyond a second season. He started the season by saying that he would not blow things up, and as we know he went right ahead and blew everything up.
Next is the addition of Brown and DePodesta to the leadership. If these candidates get the sense that all the power will lie with Haslam and those two, it may be an easy red flag.
The situation in town is unique, so maybe that can draw some interest, but it can just as easily push them all away. Helping to choose the GM could be a major selling point.
The worst case scenario is that none of these seven candidates end up as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns in 2016. Fans remember that Pettine was not one of the top choices, and was basically chosen as the guy who actually wanted to coach the Browns.
Speculation will run rampant after each and every interview, which means just another offseason in Cleveland.