Those in charge of the Cleveland Browns were likely paying close attention to Sunday's wild-card playoff result between the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars.
By virtue of their blockbuster trade on Day 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft, Cleveland holds Jacksonville’s first-round pick in 2026. That pick will be No. 24 overall, after Buffalo stopped the Jaguars from advancing in the playoffs with a 27-24 win.
The Jaguars aren't the only team that owner Jimmy Haslam, general manager Andrew Berry, and the Browns should be monitoring in these playoffs, though. They should also be eyeing the Denver Broncos — the No. 1 seed in the AFC whose blueprint is one that fits the Browns’ current situation to a T.
If the Packers are willing to trade coach Matt LaFleur, the Cleveland Browns should be calling
The similarities between the 2022 Broncos and 2025 Browns are jarring, right down to their matching 5-12 records in each season.
In 2023, the Broncos filled their head coach vacancy by trading a first-round pick (plus a Day 2 pick swap) to the New Orleans Saints for the rights to Sean Payton. His quick turnaround of the Broncos included cutting ties with Russell Wilson's horrific contract, and drafting Bo Nix in the first round of the 2024 draft.
The Browns find themselves in an eerily similar spot, in need of a culture-setting head coach as Deshaun Watson’s contract hovers over the franchise.
But unlike the 2023 Broncos — the 2026 Browns hold a pair of first-round draft picks.
The Browns are currently interviewing head coach candidates, but it’s an imperfect situation. The roster on the offensive side needs a lot of work, starting with the offensive line and QB positions. The salary cap situation is far from ideal, with Watson’s pending salary cap hits and dead chargers poised to blow Wilson’s figures with Denver out of the water. The Browns are also reportedly telling HC candidates that they want to keep Jim Schwartz as defensive coordinator, which only muddies the waters of their seaarch even further.
The Browns could look to hire a young up-and-comer, or maybe even run it back with Schwartz as head coach and Tommy Rees as offensive coordinator. But the better move would be to inquire about Green Bay’s Matt LaFleur, whose job and contract status are in some doubt and could become available via trade, per ESPN’s Rob Demovsky.
“There are other scenarios in which LaFleur could possibly not return (to Green Bay),” he wrote Sunday. “(New boss Ed Policy) could fire LaFleur, they could agree to a mutual parting of ways or the team could trade him.
“That last option would be a way for the Packers to recoup a first-round pick after they traded their No. 1 choice this year and next year to the Cowboys in the Parsons trade.”
What would a Browns trade package for Matt LaFleur look like?
The Payton trade to Denver was the NFL’s most recent involving a head coach, and the Broncos acquired him for a first-round pick (No. 29 overall) and swap of second- and third-rounders in the 2023 draft.
While it’s obviously not ideal for a team like the Browns to be trading premium draft capital for a head coach, they might be better suited than their competition to land LaFleur, who has one year remaining on his contract, per ESPN. His Packers teams have made the playoffs in six of his seven years on the job, including three consecutive 13-win seasons for 2019-21.
LaFleur, still only 46, comes from the Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay lineage and has done an excellent job managing QBs, winning big games with Aaron Rodgers, Jordan Love, and even Malik Willis. In a hypothetical world where he lands with the Browns, he should be able to navigate the 2026 season with Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel and Watson before re-evaluating the QB situation in 2027.
The Packers have been steadfast in Matt LaFleur's corner—but the question now will be at what price. Are they willing to go to, say, $15 million/year on an extension? If not, if Atlanta with Matt Ryan or Miami with Jon-Eric Sullivan calls, would new president Ed Policy listen?
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 11, 2026
As for the trade package? Payton should be the comp. LaFleur’s not going to fetch a pair of first- and second-rounders like Jon Gruden did in 2002. The Browns’ first-round pick from Jacksonville, No. 24 overall, should be a strong enough centerpiece in a deal, with plenty of options to sweeten it via either a mid-round selection or pick swap.
Browns fans seem to love the idea of Harbaugh, and would likely get behind Schwartz as their next head coach. But Harbaugh is entering his age-64 season, and Schwartz turns 60 this summer.
LaFleur literally checks every box on the Browns’ wish list (other than costing draft capital, of course), and Berry can company should bite the bullet and explore every opportunity to bring him to Cleveland.