Over 24 hours ago, the Cleveland Browns fired HC Kevin Stefanski. Since then, we’ve discussed that defensive coaches shouldn’t be overlooked, the thought that an offensive mind must be the hire, a player’s wife’s shot at Stefanski, and more. The Browns job may not be highly ranked, but Stefanski sure seems to be in demand.
Around the league, teams are lining up interviews with head coaches and, for those with openings, general manager positions. The Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, and Atlanta Falcons have multiple scheduled or are in the process of being scheduled. Cleveland, the first team to make a move on “Black Monday,” should be next as the Giants and Titans fired their coaches in-season and the Falcons got a jump start on Sunday night.
Since the Browns were last in the NFL coaching carousel back in 2020, the NFL has put rules in place to try to slow down the process, which could be impacting schedules for Cleveland and potential candidates:
On top of that, the Rooney Rule still applies and requires two interviews now to satisfy.
Given the rules and no news of Browns interviews being set up, at least so far, it is fair to guess that Cleveland’s list of candidates is heavy on coaches playing in the wild-card round. The following teams and coordinators are unavailable at this time:
The Browns could interview coordinators from the two top seeds: the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks. Sean Payton has Joe Lombardi and Vance Joseph leading his staff, while Mike Macdonald has Klint Kubiak and Aden Durde as his top coordinators.
For now, Cleveland fans sit and wait for news of who might take the next head coaching job.
