The Cleveland Browns' reported pursuit of John Harbaugh might’ve just hit a brick wall.
Analyst Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland dropped a report Friday on what it could take to win the Harbaugh sweepstakes, and it included some serious red flags for Browns fans.
According to Grossi, Harbaugh’s camp is seeking $20 million per year, with a $10 million staff budget, full autonomy on personnel decisions, and the power to select his own general manager.
.@TonyGrossi has found out what John Harbaugh's requirements are to be interested in his next HC job:
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) January 9, 2026
- $20 million per year
- $10 million staff budget
- Total authority over the roster
- Would like to select his own GM
Would you do this if you're the Browns? pic.twitter.com/fvswssVSjF
If true, the report all but confirms the Browns’ dream hire won’t happen — unless owner Jimmy Haslam is willing to do a 180 and fire his general manager, Andrew Berry.
Friday’s NFL news drop just the latest example of Browns’ ongoing dysfunction at the top
Browns reporter Mary Kay Cabot, who’s as tapped in as they come, reported Thursday that there was already mutual interest brewing between Cleveland and Harbaugh, who grew up going to games with his brother, Jim, and their parents.
Friday’s report only sheds a spotlight on the elephant in the room: Haslam should have cleaned house from the very beginning.
The decision to part ways with Kevin Stefanski hours after the season finale made sense, given the team’s struggling offense and 8-26 record since the 2024 season. It was the decision to retain Berry, and allow him to lead the team’s current head coach search, that left fans stunned at the continued dysfunction of a franchise that’s managed exactly one playoff win since its return to the NFL as an expansion team in 1999.
Haslam heaped praise on Berry’s work in the 2025 draft, which definitely produced some major hits, like TE Harold Fannin Jr. and LB Carson Schwesinger. He also lauded his GM’s ability to find kicker Andre Szmyt, and swing a savvy in-season trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars for cornerback Tyson Campbell.
With all due respect to Szmyt, the kicker on a 5-12 football team should never be included in the closing arguments for a general manager. But such is life for a Browns fan living through the Haslam ownership era.
It’s painfully obvious that Berry should’ve followed Stefanski out the door on Monday morning. He left his head coach in an impossible situation on offense, with the 40-year-old Joe Flacco at quarterback and a skill position group that wound up being led across the board by rookies selected on Days 2 and 3 of last year's draft.
Adding to fans’ frustration? The Browns currently only have one of their starting offensive linemen under contract for 2026, Dawand Jones, who was lost for the season due a Week 3 knee injury. They’ll enter the new league year with serious question marks at QB, left tackle, and wide receiver.
But, hey, at least the kicker is trending up.
It’s not unprecedented for an owner to fall in love with a head coach candidate and turn on his GM. At around this exact time last year, Jaguars owner Shad Khan fired Doug Pederson, while endorsing GM Trent Baalke and appointing him the leader of their HC search. But when Khan felt his team was being spurned by its top choice, Liam Coen, due to front office concerns, Khan dismissed Baalke, hired Coen, and allowed his new coach to pick the general manager.
Would Haslam do the same? It feels highly unlikely, doesn’t it? The Browns are hardly a shoo-in to land Harbaugh, who’s already being connected to the Giants and Dolphins jobs, and could have even more suitors after this weekend’s wild-card round of the NFL playoffs.
It was always a dream for Harbaugh to come save the Browns from NFL purgatory, but fans definitely woke up with a brutal reality on Friday, and it all traces back to the top.