Potential Josh McDaniels hire could bring Cleveland Browns realignment

Josh McDaniels is believed to be the Cleveland Browns top choice for the head coaching vacancy, and his potential hire could bring change to front office.

The Cleveland Browns requested to interview New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels for their head coaching vacancy and he is believed to be the team’s first choice for the opening.

If McDaniels is Cleveland’s top choice for vacancy and the Browns want to hire him, it could result in the front office being realigned. McDaniels is expected to want to have some personnel control, and it could result in him bringing along another person from New England.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Monday that Cleveland’s ownership is expected to let whoever they hire as head coach to have input on who will be the team’s general manager and if John Dorsey will remain in his position.

The Giants and Browns, who have fired their head coaches within the past 24 hours, still could be making more changes, per league sources. The new head coach in each city is expected to have input on whether the general managers there stay or go. Front office situations fluid.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 30, 2019

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According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, McDaniels will only leave New England if the organization he is joining has a front office structured to his liking. One of the ways to structure it to his liking would be to bring Nick Caserio from New England.

"It remains to be seen how much control McDaniels would want over personnel matters, but if he’s anything like his longtime boss Bill Belichick, he will want plenty of say. Some speculate he might even want to bring along his fellow John Carroll grad Nick Caserio, the Patriots director of player personnel who was born in Lyndhurst, Ohio. – Mary Kay Cabot, Cleveland.com"

Caserio has been the pseudo-general manager in New England, working directly with Bill Belichick. However, Belichick is the lead decision-maker in New England, and it is believed Caserio wants to have full control over a roster. His contract ends after this season, so Caserio is expected to leave New England this offseason.

Caserio is expected to get several looks as a general manager candidate because of the success in New England. Even without top selections in the draft, the Patriots are consistently finding instant contributors to their roster. They also turn other team’s castoffs into key players on their roster.

If the Browns decide to do whatever it takes to land McDaniels as head coach, they would likely be willing to completely change the front office to do so. At that point, it would be hard to imagine Dorsey and the rest of his regime staying in Cleveland. Michael Lombardi of The Athletic said Saturday he had heard Freddie Kitchens would not be the only change in Cleveland this offseason, which hinted at a possible move for Dorsey.

Dorsey is likely against a potential McDaniels hire after McDaniels burned Dorsey’s close friend, Chris Ballard, in 2018. McDaniels backed out of an agreement with Ballard and the Indianapolis Colts to be the team’s head coach just hours before the deal was to become official. When Dorsey ran the coaching search last offseason, he did not interview McDaniels.

The decision to go after McDaniels appears to be decision of the Browns ownership. The Haslam’s are reportedly fans of McDaniels and was the coach they wanted last offseason, but they let Dorsey have full control of the coaching search.

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With Dorsey’s coaching search last season ultimately a failure, the Haslam’s may not trust Dorsey as much. If that is the case, they may be more willing to let Dorsey go if they feel like McDaniels is the coach they need to land this offseason.

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