We’re now more than one week into the Cleveland Browns’ head coach search, and they’ve already conducted, or have put in a request to conduct, nine interviews with candidates of varying age, background and pedigree. Fans have been waiting for the potential of No. 10, too, in recently fired Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh.
But with all due respect to Jim Schwartz, Jesse Minter and Arden Durde, the team seems to be leaning in a specific direction. Six of the nine candidates directly connected to the Browns have offensive backgrounds, and some ascending young guys, like Grant Udinski in Jacksonville, and Nate Scheelhaase of the Los Angeles Rams, should definitely be capturing the attention of Browns fans.
There’s also the retreads, like Schwartz, ex-Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, and potentially Harbaugh, if initial conversations between the two sides develop into a real interview this week. All three could make sense for Cleveland, if owner Jimmy Haslam and Andrew Berry prefer an experienced leader.
Some clarity: ex-Ravens coach John Harbaugh did preliminary calls with the Browns, Cardinals, Dolphins, Falcons, Giants, Raiders and Titans, per sources. Those were to get teams' pitches, and work on figuring out who to interview with.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 12, 2026
He hasn't met with any team in-person yet.
The backgrounds matter here, though. Schwartz is obviously the defensive stalwart; in a perfect world, the Browns can keep their defensive coordinator of the past three years in house for the 2026 season. Harbaugh, Baltimore’s head coach of the past 18 years, is more of a CEO type with a proven background on special teams — an area that’s been a constant source of pain for Cleveland.
McDaniel? Here’s the offensive genius, who was with the Browns as their wide receivers coach in 2014. Cleveland completed an interview with McDaniel on Monday, and NFL insider Dan Graziano predicts he’ll be the pick to lead the Browns’ into their next era.
Mike McDaniel emerging as the favorite for Browns’ HC job, per ESPN
The Browns find themselves at an interesting crossroads. A candidate like Udinski, who’s barely 30 years old, comes with obvious risk. By hiring him, you’d be committing to the youngest head coach in NFL history — by about 11 months over Sean McVay.
But Udinski’s reputation and meteoric rise through the league puts off McVay vibes, and for Cleveland, it could be better to strike on an ascending coach like him early, than sit back and watch him blossom for another franchise later.
If the Browns come out of the Udinski interview with doubts (the guess here, for what it’s worth, is that he’ll blow them away), pairing McDaniel with Schwartz makes a ton of sense. Graziano reported for ESPN that McDaniel could be receptive to such a pairing.
“Cleveland's perpetually challenging quarterback situation could make this job a tough sell, but McDaniel is quirky, creative and confident. And he had success in a challenging QB situation during his first two seasons in Miami. It's not tough to imagine the Browns' front office wanting to tap into McDaniels' ideas about how to design and run an offense.”
Given where they’re drafting this year, No. 6 overall, it feels like the Browns are in prime position to land a franchise wide receiver or left tackle this April. That would mean passing on using a top-10 pick on a QB once again, which brings Shedeur Sanders right back into the conversation.
McDaniel got the best out of Tua Tagovailoa, prior to his now troubling history with head injuries. He could be a great match for Sanders, who was an accurate passer under his father in Colorado and could excel in a scheme that puts skill position players in space.
Udinski’s track record working with Sam Darnold in 2024 and Trevor Lawrence in 2025 is extremely intriguing, as well. He was still 29 when the Browns fired Kevin Stefanski a week ago, though, and age and experience could sway the Browns from making the bold hire that fans would love.