Report: Josh McDaniels believed to be Cleveland Browns first choice

Cleveland Browns have requested to interview Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels for their head coaching vacancy, who may be their top choice.

The Cleveland Browns did not take long to start the process of requesting interviews with their desired candidates for the head coaching vacancy, as they have reportedly requested to interview New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

McDaniels has been connected to the Browns for this job because Cleveland owner Dee Haslam reportedly wants McDaniels to be the next coach. Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com confirmed Schefter’s report and added on that McDaniels is “believed” to be the top choice for the Browns.

The 43-year-old has been viewed as one of the best offensive minds in football for several years. He is sharp-minded and has led an innovative and diverse offense in New England for several years.

More from Dawg Pound Daily

In the past three seasons, McDaniels has led the No. 1 ranked offense in 2017, No. 5 in 2018, and No. 15 in 2019. They scored the second, fourth, and seventh most points in the league during those seasons. In 2019, New England had the eighth-best passing offense and 18th-best rushing offense.

McDaniels has been a head coach once in his career, leading the Denver Broncos in 2009-2010. He was 11-17 during his stint with the Broncos and was fired during the 2010 season after starting the year 3-9.

Since his two-year run as head coach, McDaniels has been an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks in the nine seasons since. All but one season was with the Patriots, as he was the St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator in 2011.

There are a lot of concerns about McDaniels because it remains a question of how serious he is about leaving New England. During the 2018 offseason, McDaniels agreed to become the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, but could not sign his deal because the Patriots were still in the playoffs. When the playoffs ended, McDaniels backed out of the agreement hours before it was supposed to become official.

However, Albert Breer of the MMQB believes Cleveland is one of only two jobs McDaniels would leave New England for this offseason. McDaniels is a Northeast Ohio native and his roots in the area could tempt him to come to the Browns. He would also get a chance to coach Baker Mayfield, who McDaniels is believed to have loved since the 2018 draft process.

"I think there are two jobs that Josh would have left for last year: the Cleveland Browns, the Green Bay Packers. One interviewed him and didn’t give him an offer, the other one didn’t interview him at all. I think there are two jobs he would leave for this offseason: the Cleveland Browns and the Carolina Panthers. – Albert Breer via NBC Sports Boston"

It remains to be seen if McDaniels is the first choice of the Haslam’s or the front office. Colts general manager Chris Ballard is a confidant of Browns general manager John Dorsey, so there could be some hard feelings from Dorsey about McDaniels burning the Colts. It is worth noting that McDaniels did not get an interview with the Browns last offseason when Dorsey was in full control of the search.

In order for McDaniels to leave New England, he would likely want to have some voice in the personnel decisions. He had personnel control in Denver, and it may be something he desires once again since he is a protegé of Bill Belichick.

Next. McCarthy, McDaniels front-runners for Browns job?. dark

McDaniels is only the first candidate to have reportedly been requested for an interview by the Browns. But it would not be surprising if it is true that McDaniels would be their first choice for the head coaching vacancy.

Home/Browns News