The MMQB’s Albert Breer shares Cleveland Browns coaching search notes

The MMQB’s Albert Breer shared some of his notes and opinions about the Cleveland Browns head coaching search and the potential candidates.

The Cleveland Browns head coaching search has already drawn a lot of attention around the league and who the potential candidates will be.

With general manager John Dorsey leading the search, no one really knows the direction the search will go. Dorsey usually remains guarded about his football team, so it will be hard to know what his plans really are for the search.

On Thursday night, The MMQB’s Albert Breer did his weekly Thursday Periscope Q&A during halftime of the Thursday Night Football game and had a lot of notes and opinions about the Browns head coaching search.

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John Harbaugh to the Browns?

“I think John’s going to be in play in a lot of these situations. If I had to bet right now, if there is a landing spot for him, I’d actually say it is the Jets.”

Does Matt Campbell have a chance at the Browns head coaching job?

“Yes I do. I think he needs to prove he can put together an NFL (coaching) staff.”

Is Lincoln Riley going to the NFL?

“I have no indication that he wants to leave Oklahoma, I do know that he likes it at Oklahoma. I think it would take a very good situation. With that said, if the Dallas Cowboys were to come calling, it would be hard for Lincoln Riley to turn down the Dallas Cowboys, I believe.”

Would Josh McDaniels leave New England for the Browns?

“I think Josh would think about leaving, I’m not sure if it would be for the Browns. But I do think his name will be in play there. Whether or not the Browns, and again I think a part of this is going to come down to the relationship between John Dorsey and Chris Ballard. If Chris Ballard, who still respects Josh McDaniels as a coach, whether or not Chris Ballard says positive things about Josh McDaniels to John Dorsey. And then on the flip-side, whether or not Josh McDaniels would want to coach back home, that’s the other question.”

Who is the favorite to be the Browns head coach?

“Josh McDaniels or Matt Campbell. I think Lincoln Riley would be ideal, but I don’t know that Lincoln Riley is going to go to Cleveland.”

From what Breer was saying, it does not seem like Lincoln Riley will be coming to Cleveland to coach his former quarterback, Baker Mayfield. From the get-go, it seemed that it was going to take a lot for Riley to move on from Oklahoma, and it appears that Dallas is the only situation that would get Riley to leave Norman this coming off-season.

Being based out of Boston, Breer has a lot of insight into the Patriots organization that many other reporters do not have. His information about McDaniels is interesting, especially considering that he is the second NFL reporter to say that McDaniels is one of the favorites for the job. Earlier in November, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio told ESPN Cleveland he believed McDaniels was the favorite to be the next Browns head coach.

The biggest question regarding McDaniels is if Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard, John Dorsey’s Director of Football Operations in Kansas City, would recommend Dorsey to hire McDaniels. If Ballard is still upset about McDaniels spurning the Colts last off-season, then it would seem unlikely Dorsey would make the move to hire McDaniels.

And lastly, Breer mentioned that Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell is a favorite for the Browns job. In October, Breer told 92.3 The Fan that “people connected to Dorsey really like Campbell.” If Dorsey believes that Campbell’s leadership can transition to the NFL level, it seems like Campbell will be in contention for the job all the way to the end.

It is still very early in the coaching process, and Dorsey is likely still putting together his favorites for the job. But it is interesting to hear someone as dialed into the NFL as Breer is share notes about the Browns head coaching search so far.