Cleveland Browns: Potential coaching candidate Mike McCarthy fired by Green Bay

The Green Bay Packers fired head coach Mike McCarthy, which frees him up to officially become a candidate for the Cleveland Browns in 2019

A name that has been tied to the Cleveland Browns as a potential coaching candidate has officially become available as the Green Bay Packers fired Mike McCarthy on Sunday.

This season was supposed to go much better for the Packers. They were out of the playoffs in 2017, but that was due to an injury to quarterback Aaron Rodgers. With him healthy once again, the expectation was for them to once again become contenders.

That hasn’t happened and after they fell to 4-7-1 on the season thanks to a loss to the Arizona Cardinals, McCarthy was let go by the Packers. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the move caught the coach by surprise.

How McCarthy wasn’t expecting it is a surprise. After being unable to get enough wins without Rodgers last season to stay in contention, McCarthy entered the year on the hot seat and never got off of it.

Now the question becomes when he will get an interview with the Browns. It’s expected not just because McCarthy has a recognizable name, but also because he and current Browns general manager worked together in Green Bay before Dorsey went on to join Kansas City.

While McCarthy has hit a rough patch, he’s been a successful coach in the NFL for 13 yards. He took the job in 2006 and has won 125 games with 76 losses and two ties. He’s also 10-8 in the postseason and won a Super Bowl following the 2010 season.

Cleveland will surely be interested, but McCarthy doesn’t come without some red flags. One has been his unquestionable game management decisions in recent games. Another is the fact he won just one title with one of the more talented quarterbacks of all-time.

Looking outside the box, there’s also the fact no head coach has ever won a Super Bowl with two different teams — so the Browns would be hoping to make history with such a hire. At the same time, he’s definitely one of the biggest names they have been linked to in their most recent searches for a head coach — and there have been several searches.

Cleveland is an attractive job right now thanks to Baker Mayfield, Myles Garrett, and several other young stars. They need to make sure they get this one right, and we all know now that McCarthy will at least be in the mix. It also wouldn’t be surprising to see Dorsey lean towards someone he knows like McCarthy as he makes his first ever NFL coach hire.