The Cleveland Browns have scheduled second interviews with five head coaching candidates. They still need to satisfy the Rooney Rule, so other names might emerge in the next couple of days, if only to comply.
Sean McDermott, however, might seriously be in play for the job. The Buffalo Bills pulled the plug on the veteran head coach earlier this week, and he's going to be a sought-after name in the head coach hiring cycle.
According to Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot, the team is already doing its due diligence on him. And, while they're reportedly still focused on hiring Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski, McDermott might join the race pretty soon.
Sean McDermott deserves a real look from the Browns
Sean McDermott has drawn plenty of criticism for his lack of playoff success, but that's only fair to a degree. If anything, the Bills were the only team in the past six years to win at least one playoff game every season, and he was on the wrong end of some heartbreaking losses.
Patrick Mahomes sent him home by marching down the field in 13 seconds, and his team never got the ball back. He also lost in the playoffs because of a missed routine field goal. All in all, the Bills were always competitive, even with a flawed roster.
McDermott aced his first draft class when he joined the Bills. Then, it all went downhill once they hired GM Brandon Beane, who has repeatedly failed to find talent in the NFL Draft. He also infamously ranted about not being able to trade for a wide receiver to help Josh Allen.
All in all, McDermott left Buffalo with a 98-50 winning record (.662). He went 9-7 with Tyrod Taylor at quarterback, and his only losing season (6-10) came with a rookie Josh Allen making 11 starts. After that, the Bills won double-digit games every single season.
That's not to say that he shouldn't be held accountable for the team's never-ending shortcomings and narrow losses. Then again, he did what he could with the hand he was given by a GM who routinely failed to address the team's most glaring issues.
The Browns can't afford to mess things up with this coaching hire. And even if they love what they've seen from the candidates they've met with, not reaching out to McDermott to gauge his interest in the position would be organizational malpractice.