NFL insider just said the ugly truth out loud about Browns’ interview process

We’re now approaching Week 4 of the NFL’s 2026 hiring cycles, with five of the league’s vacancies filled, and five still up for grabs.

Some teams are moving along through the process faster than others, and there’s no question which team is holding up the rear. That would be the Cleveland Browns.

It’s becoming painfully obvious that the Browns, who were the first team to announce a coaching change on Black Monday this year, will be among the last to make a hire. Their methodical approach hit a snag this week when both Mike McDaniel and Jesse Minter canceled their in-person interviews.

The Browns remain firmly linked to four potential candidates — Jim Schwartz, Todd Monken, Grant Udinski, and Nate Scheelhaase — but according to multiple insider reports, they still need to add at least one more minority or female candidate to gain compliance with the NFL’s Rooney Rule, and their search is thus expected to drag into a fifth week (and potentially beyond).

The best insider to follow for Browns’ news right now is NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, who’s been well tapped-in on the team’s head coach search since Kevin Stefanski was let go on Jan. 5.  Pelissero appeared on the latest episode of The Rich Eisen Show, and he didn’t hold back when asked about the Browns and what’s taking so long.

Pelissero delivered some juicy details on the Browns’ interview process that made everything make sense (while driving fans up a wall).

The Browns’ head coach search is way weirder than fans realized

The two coaches who spurned the Browns, McDaniel and Minter, were both in high demand. Minter drew interest from seven teams. McDaniel had nine suitors combined, when you count interviews for offensive coordinator roles.

Thanks to Pelissero’s fine reporting, Browns fans now understand why. It's not because of quarterback Shedeur Sanders and an offense that ranked 31st in football last season. More likely, those two coaches bailed because they didn’t have time to complete their homework.

Pelissero told Eisen that the Browns’ interview process includes questionnaires, multi-part essays, and personality tests, all with an eye on giving general manager Andrew Berry and his data/analytics teams the information they need to come to a final decision.

“The Browns’ search process and interview process, which they have run a number of times, is unlike any other in the NFL,” Pelissero said. “And it plays to certain types of candidates. They are a data-driven operation in Cleveland. So they spend an extraordinary amount of time gathering data on their coaching candidates. You’re talking about taking a personality test. You’re talking about writing an essay. You’re talking about completing homework assignments, going into both the first and second rounds of interviews.

It plays toward the types of candidates that they have in the mix, which is very, very smart people, in a lot of cases, that just often happen to be tall, thin guys who came from Ivy League schools. That’s not a requirement, but that’s the type of candidate, generally, that is going to fit into a data-driven environment.”

So there you have it. Why are the Buffalo Bills reportedly compliant with league rules already, and ready to make a hire as soon as this weekend, less than one week from firing Sean McDermott? Well, for starters, they aren’t waiting for the data department to input the latest candidate’s homework assignment.

Paul DePodesta, Cleveland’s chief strategy officer of 10 years, is now back in baseball with the Colorado Rockies, but his legacy lives on with Berry and the current front office structure. Per Pelissero, the Browns’ data and analytics department remains a major cog in the whole operation, and that’s definitely one of the reasons why the team’s head coach search has moved at such a snail’s pace.

The Browns were always going to be a tough sell, with Berry still holding the final say over personnel, and the team reportedly discussing Schwartz’s potential role on the coaching staff during candidate interviews.

It’s clear now that it’s even worse than Browns fans thought. Give the organization credit for thinking outside of the box, but we’re now right in the middle of the 2026 coaching carousel, and if the Browns don’t start accruing with more urgency, they’re going to find themselves striking out completely.