List and background of every reported Cleveland Browns HC candidate

CLEVELAND, OH - DECEMBER 10: New General Manager John Dorsey (L) and owner Jimmy Haslam talk before the game against the Green Bay Packers at FirstEnergy Stadium on December 10, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - DECEMBER 10: New General Manager John Dorsey (L) and owner Jimmy Haslam talk before the game against the Green Bay Packers at FirstEnergy Stadium on December 10, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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IRVING, TX – CIRCA 2011: In this handout image provided by the NFL, Matt Eberflus of the Dallas Cowboys poses for his NFL headshot circa 2011 in Irving, Texas. (Photo by NFL via Getty Images)
IRVING, TX – CIRCA 2011: In this handout image provided by the NFL, Matt Eberflus of the Dallas Cowboys poses for his NFL headshot circa 2011 in Irving, Texas. (Photo by NFL via Getty Images) /

Matt Eberflus

The Cleveland Browns requested permission to interview Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator, Matt Eberflus, for their head coaching vacancy, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero.

Eberflus is in his first season with the Colts and his first season as a defensive coordinator. The 48-year-old has been coaching in the NFL since 2009, when he was the Browns linebackers coach for two seasons.

He was with the Dallas Cowboys from 2011-2017, spending most of his time in Arlington as the linebackers coach. He also served as the team’s passing game coordinator for two seasons.

Eberflus joined Indianapolis as the defensive coordinator last off-season, when he was expecting to be working under Josh McDaniels. But after McDaniels decided to return to New England, Frank Reich decided to keep Eberflus on staff when he was named head coach.

In his only season as the Colts defensive coordinator, Eberflus turned a defense that ranked 30th in the league the previous two seasons into the 11th ranked defense in 2018. The Colts defense allowed 21.5 points per game, the 10th fewest in the league.

Eberflus is an Ohio native, as he was born in Toledo, Ohio. He started his coaching career with the University of Toledo in 1992, where he stayed on the staff until 2000.