Josh McDaniels reportedly ‘very interested’ in Cleveland Browns HC job

The Cleveland Browns have a long list of candidates for their head coaching vacancy, and Josh McDaniels reportedly wants to become a part of the list.

New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is ‘very interested’ in becoming the Cleveland Browns head coach, according to a report from Steve Doerschuk of CantonRep.com.

The Browns have yet to request permission to interview McDaniels for their head coaching vacancy. McDaniels is currently planning on interviewing for the Green Bay Packers head coaching vacancy.

Despite the Browns not requesting permission to interview McDaniels yet, Doerschuk reported that the Browns are also interested in the 42-year-old coach, and he is a ‘serious candidate’ for the Browns job.

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"McDaniels is enthusiastically interested in the Cleveland opening. The Browns have used back channels to indicate a mutual preliminary interest, but they have not invited him to an early interview. The Green Bay Packers did, and he said yes.Browns General Manager John Dorsey has been good at cloaking what he is up to, including in the eyes of some obvious candidates. However, indications are that McDaniels is a very serious candidate."

McDaniels was an interesting name heading into this coaching cycle after he spurned the Indianapolis Colts last off-season. McDaniels had accepted the Colts head coaching job, but he had to wait until after Patriots finished their playoff run to make it official. But days before he was to sign the contract, McDaniels reneged on the deal.

That led to uncertainty if organizations would want to hire McDaniels in this coaching cycle. However, McDaniels has received multiple requests to interview for head coaching vacancies this off-season. He has only accepted the Packers request to interview so far.

There was also uncertainty if the Browns would be interested in McDaniels due to Browns general manager John Dorsey’s connection with Colts general manager Chris Ballard. Before lining up candidates for the Browns head coaching vacancy, Dorsey likely called Ballard to find out what exactly happened with the McDaniels situation last off-season.

McDaniels reportedly was concerned with the Colts power structure, which led to him turning down the deal at the last minute. McDaniels has been reported to want to have control over his coaching staff, not the front office.

CBS Sports insider Jason La Canfora reported before the NFL’s Week 17 games that McDaniels was ‘well-positioned’ for the Browns job. He cited Browns owner Jimmy Haslam being interested in hiring him as one of the main reasons.

It remains to be seen if the Browns end up hiring, or even interviewing McDaniels, but this is now two reports in one week stating that McDaniels is a serious candidate for the Cleveland job. One thing is for certain, and that is the Browns now have a roster that is drawing interest from coaches around the league.